by Bill Evans
Thanks, Iceman.
The crew was amazing. This was like a day at the beach for them. I am so thankful they are on our weather team!
I read the written report that was sent back to the Hurricane Center. It had all the usual information about the conditions of Mitch during the flight: wind speed, strongest convection, eyewall characteristics, and so on. There was one little footnote at the end—something they almost never do: talk about how the ride went. The weather officer wrote that “though a rough ride, all managed to ‘stomach’ the trip.” All but one that is! I was glad he didn’t sell me out.
As for Mitch, he went on to be one of the deadliest and most powerful hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin. At the time, Mitch was the fourth-most-intense hurricane in recorded history. It currently ranks seventh. Mitch dropped historic amounts of rainfall in Honduras and Nicaragua. Most official reports placed the rainfall at 3 feet. There were some unofficial reports of 75 inches!
Deaths due to the catastrophic flooding and mudslides made Mitch the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history; 11,000 people were killed and more than 8,000 were classified as missing. That’s a total somewhere in the neighborhood of 19,000 lives lost!
After Honduras and Nicaragua, Mitch made a right turn back toward the Gulf of Mexico, brushing the north coast of the Yucatán, and making a bead for South Florida. Though by this time Mitch was losing strength, he still had some wallop left.
With a 4-foot storm surge and sustained winds of 40 mph, Mitch dropped 7 to 10 inches of rain and five tornadoes on South Florida. Mitch destroyed 645 houses, injuring 65 people, and killing others who drowned when their boats capsized.
Because of Mitch’s destruction in Central America and Florida, the World Meteorological Organization retired his name in the spring of 1999; it will never be used again for an Atlantic hurricane.
This is Iceman, requesting permission to fly by the tower…
Differences Between Hurricanes and Tornadoes
While both hurricanes and tornadoes are atmospheric vortices (a vortex is a counterclockwise rotation of air), they have little in common. Tornadoes are produced from a single convective storm, as explained in the tornado section of this book, and most are no more than hundreds of feet wide. Hurricanes are made up of many convective storms and are hundreds of miles wide.
Tornadoes are produced in regions of large temperature gradient, meaning that it’s very hot at the surface of the land but changes gradually to very cold high in the atmosphere above. Hurricanes are generated in regions of near zero horizontal temperature gradient, meaning that the temperature is consistent throughout the air column.
While some tornadoes form over water, the majority of tornadoes form over land; the sun’s heating of the earth’s surface usually contributes to the development of the thunderstorm that spawns the vortex. In contrast, hurricanes are purely oceanic phenomena. They die out over land due to losing their source of moisture—the ocean.
Last, hurricanes take days to develop, do their destructive business, and disintegrate, while tornadoes typically last for only minutes.
The Greatest Storm on Earth
The most powerful storm ever recorded on the Earth’s surface—since we’ve been able to keep track of these things—was Super Typhoon Tip, which formed in the western Pacific Ocean on October 5, 1979. Between classes—I was in college at the time, attending Mississippi State University—I watched the reports of this storm as closely as I could.
Slow to develop and exceedingly erratic in its early movement, Tip eventually grew into a monster storm with a cloud formation of 1,350 miles in diameter. If the storm had been centered in the Gulf of Mexico, it would have stretched from Miami, Florida, to Amarillo, Texas.
Dude, that is huge!
Tip’s gale-force winds extended out from its eye for a radius of 683 miles, about five times greater than a typical Atlantic hurricane. At its peak on October 12, the air pressure in the eye fell to 870 millibars (25.69 inches of mercury), the lowest ever measured at sea on the planet. This is the equivalent of what normal air pressure would be like at 2,500 feet.
Winds circulating around Tip’s eye were blowing at a sustained rate of 190 mph, with gusts probably well over 200 mph. The eyewall extended up to 55,000 feet, where infrared temperatures were measured at an incredible –135ºF (–92.8ºC). Fortunately, Tip never made landfall, though it took a shot at Guam, swerving at the last moment to the west and thus sparing the small and vulnerable island.
By October 18, Tip had accelerated toward the northwest and was rapidly losing power. By the time it brushed Japan on October 19 and 20, it was much tamer. Wind gusts were only 88 mph along the runways at Tokyo’s airport.
There have been other storms with lower air pressure. Cyclone Monica, which struck Australia’s north coast in April 2006, now holds the world record for lowest pressure for any cyclone at 868.5 mb (25.65 inches of mercury). Meteorologists would expect this level of air pressure to be related to estimated winds of 180 mph, with gusts to 220 mph. However, when Monica struck the unpopulated area of northern Australia, there were no weather instruments in place to provide an official record of her wind speeds.
In the Atlantic Ocean, 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert’s 888 mb (26.22 inches of mercury) had retained the record for the lowest estimated pressure for more than a decade. I flew aboard the Hurricane Hunter during that hurricane and what a ride that was! However, Gilbert’s record was eclipsed by Hurricane Wilma’s 882 mb (26.04 inches of mercury) in October 2005.
However, despite these achievements in low air pressure, no other cyclone has ever reached the size and scope of Super Typhoon Tip.
Hurricane Extremes!
LARGEST EYE—EYE SEE YOU!
Wow! That’s a big peeper you’ve got there!
Super Typhoon Carmen holds the record for the largest eye at 230 miles in diameter. That’s a massive eye!
Despite that giant eye, the storm was relatively weak for its size. By the time it passed over Okinawa, Japan, on August 20, 1960, Carmen’s winds were 90 mph.
Remember what I said earlier: when the eye is large, the storm will be weaker. Dynamite comes in small packages!
SMALLEST EYE—EYE CAN’T SEE YOU!
Wow! I barely can see you!
That’s what I thought when I was looking at satellite loops, searching for the eye of Hurricane Wilma! Wilma’s eye was only 2 miles in diameter when she was at her strongest, on October 19, 2005, in the Caribbean.
Wilma also owns the record for the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin with that record low pressure of 882 mb! Wilma may have been small, but just ask anyone in Florida and they will tell you, she packed a wallop!
WHO’S THE BIGGEST, BADDEST, AND MEANEST OUT THERE?
Super Typhoon Tip! No question!
DEADLIEST EVER!
The deadliest tropical storm that ever occurred was in the Brahmaputra River Delta of Bangladesh on November 12, 1970. A storm surge of 40 feet (five stories high on a building and one of the highest ever recorded!) flooded the islands at the head of the Bay of Bengal. The islands are densely populated and, unfortunately, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 lives were lost.
WHAT’S THE HURRY? WHO’S THE FASTEST?
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Humberto is the big winner! Just off the coast of Texas in 2007, Humberto set a speed record for intensification. In just 14 hours 15 minutes, it went from a tropical depression to a full-blown hurricane.
Super Typhoon Forrest, cruising in the western Pacific during September 1983, saw his wind strength go from 75 mph to 175 mph in just 24 hours. Wow!
WHOA—TOO MUCH COFFEE, WAY TOO INTENSE!
Hurricane Wilma is the most powerful storm ever observed in the Western Hemisphere. On October 19, 2005, its record low pressure of 26.04 inches of mercury was observed south of Cuba. Wilma’s maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph.
Thank goodness Wilma never hit land with her full force!
WHAT HURRICANE HAS COS
T THE MOST?
Hurricane Katrina is currently the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. Crashing through Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in August 2005, Katrina’s total bill has been estimated at $100 billion.
Hurricane Katrina’s eyewall as seen by the Hurricane Hunters
The entire cost may never be known as it may take several generations for New Orleans to return to what it was. Katrina’s losses went beyond money. As many as 1,836 people died as a result of the storm, making it one of the most deadly hurricanes in recorded history.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
DEADLIEST HURRICANE OF THE ATLANTIC BASIN
At the end of the Era of the Pirates, the Great Hurricane of 1780 swept through Barbados, St. Vincent, Martinique, Dominica, Guadaloupe, and St. Lucia. It’s not on any list because the actual numbers cannot be confirmed, but it’s believed to have killed some 22,000 sailors, pirates, and townspeople, as well as nearly wiping out the entire British navy! Wonder where Captain Jack Sparrow was? Barbarossa?
WHO’S THE MOST POWERFUL IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC?
Hurricane Linda formed off the west coast of Mexico in 1997. Her wind speeds reached 185 mph with 220 mph gusts.
Linda can thank El Niño for her power. It was a very strong El Niño season that year; during 1997–1998, five of the strongest Pacific typhoons on record developed.
El Niño is present when there is a relaxing of the trade winds in the western Pacific. When that happens (we don’t know why it does), El Niño brings warm water from the western Pacific to the eastern Pacific…and what simple ingredient do we need to make a strong hurricane?
Right! Warm water!
Fortunately, Hurricane Linda never made landfall. She headed north and dissolved into the great beyond!.
WHAT SEASON HAS THE HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE?
The hurricane season of 2005 was certainly extreme! There were so many storms that we ran out of names! The National Hurricane Center had to turn to the Greek alphabet to name storms—there were Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta.
Altogether, twenty-eight tropical storms formed, producing fifteen hurricanes—which also was a record.
WHAT SEASON HAS THE LOWEST BATTING AVERAGE?
Only one storm made it to the plate in 1890 and 1914. There must have been really good pitching.
THE BASES ARE LOADED!
Back on August 22, 1893, four raging hurricanes were cruising through the Atlantic Ocean.
One of those storms, which on August 22 was located between the Bahamas and Bermuda, went on to hit New York City!
Two storms were near the Cape Verde islands off the African coast, and a fourth was approaching Nova Scotia.
The Cape Verde storms eventually came ashore over Georgia and South Carolina on August 27, killing as many as 2,000 people.
Meteorologists really needed a scorecard to keep track of these!
National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
HEY! YOU MUST BE IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM!
What’s in a name? One hurricane had three names! Imagine a storm crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and back again….
In the name game we have—of naming storms different names in different oceans—you knew this was bound to happen some day. If a storm crosses from one ocean to another, say from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the name of the storm changes from an Atlantic name to a Pacific name. And vice versa.
Tropical Storm Hattie developed on October 28, 1961, off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. After crossing Central America, the storm re-formed in the Pacific Ocean, where she was given the name Simone on November 1. Two days later, she curled back toward Central America, crossing back to the Atlantic through Mexico and reemerged in the Gulf of Mexico as Inga!
I hope she got frequent flier miles!
* A True Bill Evans Weather Story *
Living Through Hurricane Camille—or, How I Came to Be a Meteorologist
I grew up in the 1960s (I know that’s a long time ago; some people think I used to forecast the weather for President George Washington!). It was a wild and sometimes frightening time. There were race riots, war, assassinations, environmental disasters, and even the god-awful threat of nuclear weapons being used, all beamed by television right into our living rooms.
I grew up in the rural South where, during this time, communities did their best to sort of cut themselves off from this tumultuous time in our nation’s history. Soon that came to an abrupt and horrifying end.
As a nine-year-old boy in August of 1969, I personally had a front-row seat to see a disastrous monster of a hurricane named Camille shock our state right out of its isolation with the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in recorded history. Camille’s winds, at the time, were clocked at 174 mph with winds as high as 201 mph extrapolated by the Hurricane Hunter aircraft from above. Her storm surge, reaching more than 28 feet, also set a record.
As the storm approached the Mississippi Gulf Coast from the central Gulf of Mexico, I kept a homemade hurricane tracking chart. It was a Texaco road map of the southeastern United States that showed just enough of the Gulf of Mexico to give me room to write in Camille’s position. Listening to the radio and watching the weather reports on TV, I wrote down the longitude and latitude from each report. Camille clipped the far western tip of Cuba to the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, coming ashore just east of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Rainfall along the track of Hurricane Camille, August 1969
National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
Advisories like this were issued:
* * *
National Hurricane Center Miami
ADVISORY NO. 2 6 PM EDT THURSDAY AUGUST 14, 1969
…YOUNG CAMILLE ADVANCES SLOWLY TOWARD THE GULF OF MEXICO…
NO FURTHER REPORTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE DEVELOPING CENTRAL AREAS OF CAMILLE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND BOTH THE MOVEMENT AND PRESENT INTENSITY MUST BE INFERRED FROM ISLAND STATION REPORTS. AT 6 PM EDT…2200Z…CAMILLE WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY AT LATITUDE 19.9 NORTH…LONGITUDE 83.0 WEST OR ABOUT 440 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF MIAMI. IT IS APPARENTLY MOVING NORTHWEST ABOUT 12 MPH. BASED UPON THE ESSA 9 SATELLITE PICTURE JUST RECEIVED THE STORM HAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN INTENSITY DURING THE LAST 6 HOURS AND STRONGEST WINDS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE 60 TO 65 MPH OVER A SMALL AREA NEAR THE CENTER. GALES EXTEND OUTWARD 70 TO 100 MILES IN THE NORTHERN SEMICIRCLE OF THE STORM.
INDICATIONS ARE THAT CAMILLE WILL PASS NEAR THE WESTERN TIP OF CUBA TONIGHT OR EARLY FRIDAY MORNING MOVING NORTHWESTWARD ABOUT 10 TO 12 MPH. WHILE IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHAT FURTHER LAND AREAS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM THE STEERING CURRENTS INDICATE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A TURN TO A SLIGHTLY MORE NORTHERLY COURSE FRIDAY. THIS WOULD CARRY THE CENTER INTO THE EAST CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO THIS WEEKEND.
ALL INTERESTS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS AND SHIPPING IN THE VICINITY OF THE YUCATAN CHANNEL AND THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR FURTHER ADVICES CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT OF CAMILLE. WHILE THIS IS A VERY SMALL STORM AT PRESENT…CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT.
ALL INTERESTS IN WESTERN CUBA SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR WINDS OF GALE FORCE IN SQUALLS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAINS AND FLASH FLOODS TONIGHT WITH TIDES ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COASTLINE 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL.
REPEATING THE 6 PM EDT POSITION…19.9 NORTH…83.0 WEST.
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT MIDNIGHT EDT.
SIMPSON*
* * *
As Camille roared ashore in the middle of the night over the Mississippi Gulf Coast with all its ferociousness, I kept up with the reports, even when the power went out—I had a battery-o
perated AM radio and a citizens band (CB) radio. The winds battered our home to the point where my grandfather moved the refrigerator behind the door to our home to keep it from blowing in.
Camille’s winds destroyed the roof of our home, and our beautiful pecan orchard was stripped bare of every pecan and every single leaf. The winds made this eerie, moaning, deathlike sound like right out of a horror movie. Imagine what it must have been like to live through this at only nine years old. The numbers came in: 172 Mississippians were killed by Camille; 41 were never found, presumed washed out to sea. The national death toll was 347. Camille destroyed Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and dumped 32 inches of rain over Virginia, causing 150 mudslides.
Today, there are still bare concrete slabs, vestiges from Camille’s wrath dotting the Mississippi coastline. In her wake, Camille left a wave of change for the better in the way the United States deals with hurricane disasters. Camille’s legacy includes improvements in emergency management planning; the creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and increased support for scientific and engineering research, resulting in new building codes and the Saffir-Simpson Damage-Potential Scale, as well as better understanding of the psychological effects of disaster trauma.
National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce
Speaking of psychological trauma, here are two bizarre stories from Camille. The first is the story of how Camille got her name.
