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| [[Category:Done 2016-04-30]] | | #REDIRECT [[Hurricane]] |
| <onlyinclude>'''Hurricanes''' are large storms with winds of 119 km/hr or higher.<ref name=RE1>"What Are Hurricanes?", NASA, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-are-hurricanes-58.html. [Accessed: 12- Jun- 2016].</ref> The generic, scientific term for these storms, regardless of where they occur, is [[tropical cyclone]].</onlyinclude> They form near the equator over warm [[ocean]] [[water]]s. The term hurricane is used only for the large storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Ocean. When a hurricane reaches land, it pushes a wall of ocean water towards the land. This wall of water that forms is called a [[storm surge]], and when mixed in with heavy [[rain]], it can cause [[flood | flooding]], especially near the coast.
| | [[Category:Done 2017-07-01]] |
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| A hurricane starts out as a tropical disturbance, an area over warm ocean waters where [[rain cloud]]s are forming. Tropical cyclones are like engines that require warm and moist [[air]] as the fuel. So the first ingredient needed for a tropical cyclone is warm ocean water. That is why tropical cyclones form only in tropical regions where the ocean is at least 26°[[Celsius|C]] for at least the top 50 meters below the surface.<ref name=RE2>"NOAA': How does a hurricane form?", NASA, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/hurricane/. [Accessed: 08- Jun- 2016].</ref> The second ingredient for a tropical cyclone is [[wind]]. Hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean, the wind blowing westward across the Atlantic from Africa provides the necessary ingredient. As the [[wind]] passes over the ocean's surface, water evaporates and turns into water vapour and rises. As it rises, the [[water vapour]] cools, and condenses back into large water droplets, [[cloud formation | forming large cumulonimbus clouds]].<ref name=RE2/>
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| ==Categorizing Hurricanes==
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| Hurricanes are categorized by wind speeds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1-5 scale that categorizes hurricanes based on their intensity at a specific time. Damages typically rise by a factor of four for every category increase.<ref name=RE3>"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.", NOAA, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/pages/aboutsshs.php. [Accessed: 14- Jun- 2016].</ref> The scale does not address the potential for such other hurricane related impacts such as waves, storm surge, floods, or tornadoes.
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| * Category 1: Winds 119-153 km/hr<ref name=RE1/>
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| * Category 2: Winds 154-177 km/hr<ref name=RE1/>
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| * Category 3: Winds 178-208 km/hr<ref name=RE1/>
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| * Category 4: Winds 209-251 km/hr<ref name=RE1/>
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| * Category 5: Winds more than 252 km/hr<ref name=RE1/>
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| ==Hurricane Strength and Climate Change:==
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| The frequency of hurricanes generally decreases in the Atlantic and Western pacific regions during [[El Nino Southern Oscillation | El Niño]]. While these areas experience a decrease, the central North and South Pacific regions experience an increase in hurricanes.<ref name=RE5>"Evidence for Changes in Tropical Storms - AR4 WGI Chapter 3: Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change", Ipcc.ch, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch3s3-8-3.html. [Accessed: 10- Jun- 2016].</ref>
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| By the end of the century, tropical storms are predicted to become 2-11% more intense due to [[anthropogenic]] warming.<ref name=RE4>"Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory - Global Warming and Hurricanes", NOAA, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes. [Accessed: August 3, 2016].</ref> This increase would lead to more economic and social damage. It would also lead to higher rainfall rates compared to present day, with models predicting an increase of 10-15%.<ref name=RE4/> Hurricane models also project that the maximum intensity of hurricanes bred in the Atlantic will increase by about 5% by the year 2100.<ref name=RE4/>
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| The video below is a lecture from Prof. David Archer, Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago,<ref name = Archer>Prof. David Archer has graciously allowed the use of this and other videos in a private communication with Jason Donev.</ref> talking about hurricanes and how [[climate change]] effects hurricanes:
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| <HTML5video width="800" height="450" autoplay="false" loop="true">Hurricanes_Archer</HTML5video>
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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