Hurricane Awareness Week – The Basics

This is Hurricane Awareness Week and the National Weather Service is featuring a number of topics on hurricanes as we approach the start of the hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin.

Here is the release for today which focuses on the basics of hurricanes.

-Brian-

NOUS44 KBMX 251050
PNSBMX
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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
521 AM CDT SUN MAY 25 2014

...HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK STARTS TODAY...

TODAY'S TOPIC:  OVERVIEW AND HURRICANE BASICS.

THE GOAL OF HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK IS TO PROVIDE EDUCATION ABOUT
THE HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH A HURRICANE, WHICH WILL PREPARE YOU TO
TAKE ACTION AS A HURRICANE APPROACHES. THIS INFORMATION MAY SAVE YOUR
LIFE AT WORK, HOME, ON THE ROAD, OR ON THE WATER. EACH DAY OF
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK FEATURES A UNIQUE TOPIC RELEVANT TO
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS. HURRICANE SEASON OFFICIALLY RUNS FROM JUNE
1ST UNTIL NOVEMBER 30TH FOR THE ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN AND GULF OF
MEXICO.

ALTHOUGH CENTRAL ALABAMA IS NOT ADJACENT TO ANY LARGE WATER BODY, WE
ARE CLOSE ENOUGH THAT HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS CAN HAVE A
DEVASTATING IMPACT ACROSS THE AREA. HURRICANE HAZARDS COME IN MANY
FORMS ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA INCLUDING TORNADOES, HIGH WINDS AND
FLOODING. THIS MEANS IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR
WORK PLACE TO HAVE A PLAN THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT ALL OF THESE
HAZARDS.

HERE ARE A FEW HURRICANE BASICS.

A HURRICANE IS A TYPE OF TROPICAL CYCLONE, WHICH IS A GENERIC TERM
FOR A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT FORMS IN THE TROPICS. THESE SYSTEMS
HAVE A WELL DEFINED CENTRAL CIRCULATION WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 74
MPH.

A TROPICAL STORM IS A TYPE OF TROPICAL CYCLONE, WHICH IS A GENERIC
TERM FOR A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT FORMS IN THE TROPICS. THESE
SYSTEMS HAVE A WELL DEFINED CENTRAL CIRCULATION WITH SUSTAINED WINDS
OF 39 TO 73 MPH.

A TROPICAL DEPRESSION IS AN ORGANIZED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WITH
SUSTAINED WINDS OF 38 MPH OR LESS.

THE HURRICANE NAMES FOR 2014 ARE AS FOLLOWS...

ARTHUR        HANNA         OMAR
BERTHA        ISAIAS        PAULETTE
CRISTOBAL     JOSEPHINE     RENE
DOLLY         KYLE          SALLY
EDOUARD       LAURA         TEDDY
FAY           MARCO         VICKY
GONZALO       NANA          WILFRED

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK CONTINUES ON MONDAY. WE WILL FOCUS OUR
ATTENTION ON STORM SURGE. EVEN THOUGH THESE HAZARDS DO NOT DIRECTLY
IMPACT CENTRAL ALABAMA, MANY OF US TRAVEL TO COASTAL DESTINATIONS
DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, WHICH IS HURRICANE SEASON. BECOME EDUCATED
ON THESE HAZARDS DURING PREPAREDNESS WEEK.

FOR ADDITIONAL PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION, YOU CAN VISIT THESE SITES
ON THE INTERNET:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BMX

NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
WWW.HURRICANES.GOV

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK SITE
WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/PREPARE/

FEMA
WWW.READY.GOV

AMERICAN RED CROSS
WWW.REDCROSS.ORG/WHAT-WE-DO/DISASTER-RELIEF

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT EITHER JIM STEFKOVICH, THE
METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE, OR JOHN DEBLOCK, THE WARNING COORDINATION
METEOROLOGIST, AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
OFFICE AT 205-664-3010.

$$

Category: Alabama's Weather, Tropical