EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HURRICANES

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same storm.  However:

• In the Northern Hemisphere they spin (looking from above) in the counterclockwise direction.
• In the Southern Hemisphere they spin in the clockwise direction.
• Something called the Coriolis Force created by the rotation of Planet Earth triggers the storm.

• 
  They are called:
• Hurricane if initially formed in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific Oceans.
• Typhoon if formed in the Western North Pacific.
• Cyclone if in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

• 
  The ocean waters need to be at least 80 F (27 C) from surface to 150 feet deep for these cyclonic storms to form.  Thus, the ocean is too cold during winter months.

• 
  Hurricanes cannot exist about 300 miles above and below the equator.  Thus, no storm of this nature has ever crossed the Equator.
• At 39 MPH it is called a tropical storm and given a name.
• Reaching a sustained 74 MPH the classification is changed to hurricane, typhoon or cyclone.
• They are classified according the the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

• 
  The most powerful storm ever was Typhoon Nancy in 1961.
• Highest one-minute sustained winds of 213 MPH.
• Lowest central pressure of 882 millibars.
• Was a Category 5 for 5.5 days.
• Caused damage in 2021 dollars of $4.3 billion in Japan and killed 200.

Interestingly enough, the second most powerful also occurred in 1961 and also made landfall in Japan.  Typhoon Violet went up to 207 MPH at 886 millibars, but dissipated before reaching Japan.

Tying for #3 were Typhoon Ida (yes, Ida) in 1958 and Hurricane Patricia (2015), both at 200 MPH.  

• Ida created extensive damage in Japan and had a minimum central pressure of 877 mb, even lower than Nancy.
• Patricia is especially noteworthy because it is the only one of these four with reliable measurements.  The field has significantly improved over the past half a century.  Patricia's central pressure dropped from 980 mb to 880, also lower than Nancy's, in two days, becoming the strongest hurricane in the Western Hemisphere, making landfall in Mexico.

Typhoon Tip in 1979 is worthy of mention because, while "only" reaching a wind speed of 190 MPH, had the lowest central pressure ever at 870 mb and a diameter of 1379 miles.  Tip formed in the East Pacific,  but here is how he would have looked if placed over the eastern part of the USA.

Finally, this remains a debatable topic, but is there a clear link between global warming and an increase in Category 4 and 5 hurricanes?  To me it just makes sense that the ocean surface, too, is now warming, meaning that hurricanes should be stronger.  From Wikipedia.

I'm off to record my TEDx talk on the Blue Revolution this morning, and will later tell you how you can watch it.  Aloha.

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