Hurricane Awareness – Wind

This is hurricane awareness week across the US as the National Weather Service (NWS) focuses on educating people to the dangers and procedures to be safe during the upcoming hurricane season which begins June 1. Today’s focus is on wind with tropical systems.

-Brian-

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
512 AM CDT TUE MAY 27 2014

...THIS IS HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK...

TODAY'S TOPIC:  WINDS

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.

TODAY WE WILL FOCUS ON THE HAZARD OF THE WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH
TROPICAL SYSTEMS THAT CAN DIRECTLY IMPACT CENTRAL ALABAMA.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS RANGE FROM 74 TO MORE THAN 180 MPH. THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE RATES HURRICANES ON A SCALE
FROM 1 TO 5 BASED ON THE STORM'S STRONGEST WINDS AND RELATES THESE
WIND SPEEDS TO POTENTIAL IMPACTS AND DAMAGE. TROPICAL STORMS HAVE
LOWER WIND SPEEDS, ANYWHERE BETWEEN 39 AND 73 MPH. BUT TROPICAL
STORM FORCE WINDS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE DAMAGE AS WELL.

THE STRONGEST WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL SYSTEM ARE TYPICALLY
ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE SYSTEM, CLOSEST TO FEEDER BANDS AND NEAR
THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION. WIND SPEEDS USUALLY DECREASE RATHER
SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN 12 HOURS AFTER LANDFALL, BUT CAN STAY ABOVE
HURRICANE FORCE, ESPECIALLY IN GUSTS WELL INLAND. IN MOST CASES,
THESE SEVERE WINDS LAST MUCH LONGER THAN THE TYPICAL SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM AND DO NOT SUBSIDE UNTIL THE SYSTEM MOVES OUT, OR
WEAKENS. IN SOME CASES, THESE WINDS MAY PERSIST FOR MANY HOURS.

HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS CAN ALSO PRODUCE TORNADOES THAT
ADD TO THE STORM'S DESTRUCTIVE POWER. THEY'RE MOST LIKELY TO
OCCUR IN THE RIGHT FRONT QUADRANT OF THE TROPICAL CYCLONE, BUT
ALSO CAN BE EMBEDDED IN THE RAIN BANDS, WELL AWAY FROM THE STORM'S
CENTER. TORNADOES PRODUCED WITHIN A TROPICAL SYSTEM ARE TYPICALLY
FAST DEVELOPING AND SHORT LIVED BUT CAN PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE
OR INJURY. DUE TO THIS FAST DEVELOPING NATURE, WARNING LEAD TIMES
MAY BE SHORTER THAN NORMAL. AS THE STORM APPROACHES, YOUR LOCAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF ISSUING ANY TORNADO AND/OR INLAND HIGH WIND WARNINGS.

BEFORE HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS, ASSESS YOUR PROPERTY TO ENSURE THAT
LANDSCAPING AND TREES DO NOT BECOME A WIND HAZARD. TRIM DEAD WOOD
AND OVERHANGING BRANCHES FROM ALL TREES. ANY TREE NEAR YOUR HOME IS
AN IMMEDIATE HAZARD. CENTRAL ALABAMA RECEIVES A MAJORITY OF ITS
DAMAGE DUE TO FALLEN TREES. THESE TREES CAN ALSO KNOCK POWER LINES
DOWN AND CAUSE POWER OUTAGES.

MOST MOBILE OR MANUFACTURED HOMES ARE NOT BUILT TO WITHSTAND
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS. RESIDENTS OF HOMES NOT MEETING THAT LEVEL OF
SAFETY SHOULD RELOCATE TO A NEARBY SAFER STRUCTURE WELL IN ADVANCE
OF AN APPROACHING TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE. IF A TROPICAL STORM
OR HURRICANE WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA, SECURE ALL LAWN
FURNITURE AND OTHER OUTSIDE OBJECTS THAT COULD BECOME A PROJECTILE
IN HIGH WIND SITUATIONS.

IN THE EVENT YOU LOSE POWER FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, A
GENERATOR MAY BE NECESSARY FOR YOUR POWER SUPPLY. PLEASE BE AWARE
THAT ANY GASOLINE RUN MACHINERY PRODUCES EXHAUST. THIS EXHAUST CAN
BE HARMFUL OR DEADLY WHEN INHALED. USE THIS TYPE OF MACHINERY ONLY
IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK CONTINUES ON WEDNESDAY WITH INFORMATION
ON INLAND FLOODING.

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.

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Category: Alabama's Weather, Tropical