Introduction

A: Basic Definitions

• A1) What is a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone?
  
• A2) What is "Cape Verde" hurricane?
  
• A3) What is a super-typhoon? What is a major hurricane? What is an intense hurricane ?
  
• A4) What is an easterly wave and what causes them?
  
• A5) What is a tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm?
  
• A6) What is a sub-tropical cyclone?
  
• A7) What is an extratropical cyclone?
  
• A8) What is storm surge and how is it different from tidal surge?
  
• A9) What is a "CDO"?
  
• A10) What is a TUTT?
  
• A11) What is the "eye"? How is it formed and maintained? What is the "eyewall"? What are "spiral bands"?
  
• A12) What is a moat in a hurricane?
  
• A13) What is UTC, GMT, Z, or Zulu Time? How do I tell at what time a satellite picture was taken?
  
• A14) How do I convert from mph to knots (or m/s), from inches of mercury to millibars (or hPa), or from degrees of latitude to miles (or kilometers)?
  
• A15) How do tropical cyclones form?
  
• A16) Why do tropical cyclones require at least 80°F ocean temperatures to form?
  
• A17) What is the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) ? How does it affect tropical cyclones?
  
  

B: Tropical Cyclone Names

• B1) Why are tropical cyclones named?
  
• B2) What are the upcoming tropical cyclone names?
  
• B3) What names have been retired in the Atlantic and East Pacific basin?
  
• B4) What is the origin of the word 'hurricane'?
  
• B5) What happens to the name of the tropical cyclone if it moves from the Atlantic regions to the Northeast Pacific, or vice versa?
  
• B6)What happens if they run out of names on the list?
  
• B7)How can I nominate a new name for the list?
  

C: Tropical Cyclone Modification and Myths

• C1) Doesn't the low pressure in the tropical cyclone center cause the storm surge?
  
• C2) Doesn't the friction over land kill tropical cyclones?
  
• C3) Aren't big tropical cyclones also intense tropical cyclones?
  
• C4) Has there ever been an attempt or experiment to reduce the strength of a hurricane?
  
• C5) Why don't we try to destroy tropical cyclones by: (pick one or more)
  1. seeding them with silver iodide?
     
  2. placing a substance on the ocean surface?
     
  3. nuking them?
     
  4. adding water absorbing substances?
  5. cooling the surface waters with icebergs or deep ocean water?
  6. other means?
• C6) During a hurricane are you supposed to have the windows and doors on the storm side closed and the windows and doors on the lee side open?
  
• C7) Should I tape my windows when a hurricane threatens?
  
  

D: Tropical Cyclone Winds and Energy

• D1) How are Atlantic hurricanes ranked?
  
• D2) How are Australian tropical cyclones ranked?
  
• D3) Why do tropical cyclones' winds rotate counter-clockwise (clockwise) in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere?
• D4) What does "maximum sustained wind" mean? How does it relate to gusts in tropical cyclones?
  
• D5) How does the damage that hurricanes cause increase as a function of wind speed?
  
• D6) Why are the strongest winds in a hurricane typically on the right side of the storm?
  
• D7) How much energy does a hurricane release?
  
• D8) What are "concentric eyewall cycles" (or "eyewall replacement cycles") and why do they cause a hurricane's maximum winds to weaken?
  
• D9) What causes each hurricane to have a different maximum wind speed for that given minimum sea-level pressure?
  
• D10) Why do hurricane force winds start at 64 knots?
  
  

E: Tropical Cyclone Records

• E1) Which is the most intense tropical cyclone on record?
  
• E2) Which tropical cyclone intensified the fastest?
  
• E3) Which tropical cyclone has produced the highest storm surge?
  
• E4) What are the largest rainfalls associated with tropical cyclones?
  
• E5) Which are the largest and smallest tropical cyclones on record?
  
• E6) Which tropical cyclone lasted the longest?
  
• E7) What is the farthest a tropical cyclone has traveled?
  
• E8) What tropical cyclones have been at Category Five the longest?
  
• E9) Which tropical cyclones have caused the most deaths and most damage?
  
• E10) What are the average, most, and least tropical cyclones occurring in each basin?
  
• E11) How many tropical cyclones have there been each year in the Atlantic basin? What years were the greatest and fewest seen?
  
• E12) What have been the deadliest tropical cyclones in the United States?
  
• E13) What have been the costliest tropical cyclones in the United States?
  
• E14) What have been the most intense hurricanes to strike the United States?
  
• E15) What tropical storms and hurricanes have moved from the Atlantic to the Northeast Pacific or vice versa?
  
• E16) When did the earliest and latest hurricanes occur?
  
• E17) How many hurricanes have there been in each month?
  
• E18) What was the largest number of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time?
  
• E19) How many direct hits by hurricanes of various categories have affected each state?
  
• E20) When are major hurricanes likely to strike each state?
  
• E21) What is the total United States damage (before and after adjustment for inflation) and death toll for each year since 1900?
  
• E22) What tracks did the continental U.S. major hurricanes take by decade?
  
• E23) What is the complete list of continental U.S. landfalling hurricanes?
  
• E24) How long has it been since a hurricane or a major hurricane hit a given community in the United States?
  
  

F: Tropical Cyclone Forecasting

• F1) What regions around the globe have tropical cyclones and who is responsible for forecasting there?
  
• F2) What are those track and intensity models that the Atlantic forecasters are talking about in the Inter-Governmental messages?
  
• F3) What are the various forecasts that are being issued for seasonal tropical cyclone activity around the world?
  
• F4) What is the official U.S. Government (NOAA) seasonal hurricane outlook for the Atlantic basin for this year and what are the predictive factors?
  
• F5) How has the official U.S. Government (NOAA) seasonal hurricane outlook done in previous years?
  
• F6) How accurate are the forecasts from the National Hurricane Center?
  
• F7) How is storm surge forecast?
  
  

G: Tropical Cyclone Climatology

• G1) When is hurricane season?
  
• G2) How does El Niño-Southern Oscillation affect tropical cyclone activity around the globe?
  
• G3) What may happen with tropical cyclone activity due to global warming?
  
• G4) Are we getting stronger and more frequent hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones in the last several years?
  
• G5) Why do tropical cyclones occur primarily in the summer and autumn?
  
• G6) What determines the movement of tropical cyclones?
  
• G7) Why doesn't the South Atlantic Ocean experience tropical cyclones?
  
• G8) Does an active June and July mean the rest of the season will be busy too?
  
• G9) Why do hurricanes hit the East coast of the U.S., but never the West coast?
  
• G10) How much lightning occurs in tropical cyclones?
  
• G11) What is the 20th century hurricane record for each U.S. coastal county?
  
• G12) What is my chance of being struck by a tropical storm or hurricane?
  
• G13) What is my chance of having a tropical storm or hurricane strike by each month?
  
• G14) What is the average number of tropical storms and hurricanes to affect my town?
  
• G15)What is the peak number of tropical storms and hurricanes to affect my town?
  
• G16)I'm vacationing in the Caribbean/the Bahamas/Central America/Miami or elsewhere in the tropics during hurricane season. What's my chance of getting hit by a hurricane?
  

H: Tropical Cyclone Observation

• H1) What is the Dvorak technique and how is it used?
  
• H2) Who are the "Hurricane Hunters" and what are they looking for?
  
• H3) What is it like to fly into a hurricane?
  
• H4) Can I get a seat on a hurricane flight?
  
• H5) What's it like to go through a hurricane on the ground? What are the early warning signs of an approaching tropical cyclone?
  
• H6) Are there hurricanes on other planets?
  
• H7) How does the ocean respond to a hurricane and how does this feedback to the storm itself?
  
  
  

I: Real Time Information

• I1) Where can I get real-time advisories for tropical cyclones?
  
• I2) Where can I get real-time tropical weather analyses?
  
• I3) Where can I get real-time ship and buoy data?
  
• I4) Where can I get real-time sea surface temperature data?
  
• I5) Where can I get real-time satellite pictures and satellite products?
  
• I6) Where can I get real-time radar data?
  
• I7) Where can I get real-time hurricane aircraft reconnaissance data?
  
• I8) Where can I get real-time forecasts of tropical cyclone motion?
  
• I9) What computer software is available for tracking tropical cyclones?
  
• I10) How can I get hurricane information when I'm not at my computer?
  

J: Historical Information

• J1) Where can I get historical data on tropical cyclones?
  
• J2) What journals have regular articles on tropical cyclones?
  
• J3) What books have been written about tropical cyclones?
  
• J4) What fictional books,plays, and movies have been written involving tropical cyclones?
  
• J5) What refereed articles were written in recent years on tropical cyclones?
  
• J6) What are some important dates in the history of hurricanes and hurricane research?
  
  
  

K: Hurricane Preparation

• K1) What steps should I take when a hurricane watch/warning is posted?
  
• K2) What can I do to make my home/business more disaster resistant?
  
• K3) What kind of hurricane shutters are available?
  

L: Hurricanes versus Tornadoes

• L1) How are tropical cyclones different from tornadoes?
  
• L2) Why do tropical cyclones spawn tornadoes?
  
• L3) What percentage of tropical cyclones spawn tornadoes?
  
• L4 What parts of a tropical cyclone are most favored for tornado formation?
  
• L5) How long after landfall are TC tornadoes a threat?
  
• L6) Are TC tornadoes weaker than midlatitude tornadoes?
  
• L7) What is the largest known outbreak of TC tornadoes?
  
• L8) What is the deadliest single TC-spawned tornado?
  
• L9) What is the most damaging single TC-spawned tornado?
  
• L10) Why are TC tornadoes especially difficult to deal with?
  
• L11) Which states are most vulnerable to TC tornadoes outbreaks?
  
• L12) What about Florida? They get the most hurricane strikes; do they also get a lot of TC tornadoes?
  
• L13) How does the damage from hurricanes compare to tornadoes?