What Causes Hurricanes?

Thanks to big storms such as Hugo and Katrina, hurricanes are household names, known for sweeping in death and destruction on winds capable of topping 150 mph. But unlike tornadoes, which strike quickly and with little notice, hurricanes usually takes days to form.

 The huge, swirling storms start as tropical disturbances, when rain clouds build over warm ocean waters, generating wind speeds less than 38 mph. If the winds of the rotating storm are from 39 mph to 73 mph, it's labeled a tropical depression; at 74 mph, it officially becomes a hurricane.

A hurricane's strength is based on its wind speed and ranked using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm is dangerous, but a Category 5 storm is likely catastrophic, bringing winds faster than 157 mph. Hurricanes Hugo in 1989 and Katrina in 2005 were Category 5 storms. Though the high winds can be treacherous, the greatest threat during a typical hurricane is the storm surge, a wall of water that can be 100 miles wide and 15 feet deep and covers the coastline when a hurricane lands.

5 Quick Facts About Hurricanes

• The difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is simply where it happens. Both are tropical cyclones, called hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, and eastern Pacific Ocean, and referred to as typhoons west of the international date line in the Pacific Ocean.
• Names are given to tropical storms (which may or may not develop into a hurricane) in alphabetical order, alternating male and female names, and skipping names that start with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z.
• It's a common myth that opening a window during a hurricane will help equalize the pressure in your home, but the reality is that doing so will only invite in more wind and debris.
• The deadliest tropical cyclone in history was Bangladesh's Great Bhola Cyclone in November 1970, which killed as many as 500,000 people.
• Superstorm Sandy, while destructive, was downgraded from hurricane status. Officially, it was Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy, but the superstorm name given by media outlets stuck.

Colorado State Increases Estimate of Named Atlantic Storms for 2014 Season

Colorado State University increased the number of storms it expects to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season to 10 from nine.

The forecast calls for four of those to become hurricanes, one of them a major system, said Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the outlook. In April, his team predicted three hurricanes, with one growing into a major storm.

“We raised the number slightly because El Nino isn’t coming on as strong as we thought,” Klotzbach said by telephone today. “We’re still pretty confident it will be a quiet season.”

Atlantic hurricanes can disrupt U.S. and Mexican natural gas and oil production and affect refineries and agriculture. An estimated $10.6 trillion of insured coastal property in 18 states from Maine to Texas is vulnerable to storm strikes, according to the Insurance Information Institute in New York.

The 30-year average is for the Atlantic to produce 12 storms during the season that runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Currently, an area of disturbed weather in the Bay of Campeche, in the southern Gulf of Mexico, has a 10% chance in the next five days of becoming the season’s first storm, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Will You be Ready if Disaster Strikes? -Employee Assistance Plan

With June 1 officially being the start of the 2014 Hurricane season, a business needs to be able to react immediately and confidently after a disaster, so it can quickly minimize losses and get back up and running. Follow along this week as we provide 5 valuable Emergency plans the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends developing to ensure workplaces are ready when a flood, tornado, earthquake, fire, hurricane, or other disaster occurs. 

 #5 Employee Assistance Plan 

 

Disasters can impact employees and their families. They may experience costly expenses or be forced to stay somewhere other than their homes. Support employees as much as possible as they recover from an emergency. It’s helpful to develop a plan for how your business will aid affected employees, whether by providing financial assistance, connecting employees to the appropriate public agencies and services, or offering mental healthcare to help with the emotional impact of a disaster.