Hurricanes are the world's most severe large scale cyclonic weather systems. They nearly always form over oceans when the sea temperature is above 79 deg F (26 deg C). They can stretch up to 1000 miles (1600km) across (the largest one had a diameter of 2200km) and for that reason you may not be safe if it is heading towards your destination.  Map courtesy of: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Global_tropical_cyclone_tracks-edit2.jpg Plan ahead for the cyclone seasonIs your family prepared for the hurricane season? Ensure that they learn these cyclone safety tips before the storm arrives. As a safety precaution, if you are going to travel overseas, then you'll need to make sure you obtain quality inexpensive travel insurance. If you live in regions where these cyclonic storms occur you may want to consider trying to make sure that your house and windows are hurricane proof before you go. This will do three things:
Many people each year are forced to leave their holiday destination in the Caribbean since they were unaware of when the Caribbean hurricane season occurred. My main objective is to help you avoid this predicament. Basic facts on hurricanes (same thing as tropical cyclones)In case you don't know, the winds around these cyclonic systems rotate anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Depending upon the size of the tropical cyclone, you may not aware how close it is until it's almost at your destination. This is particularly true for the smaller sized cyclonic storms. An addition to this the winds circulating around these tropical cyclones systems are strongest on the side it is moving towards. That may be another good reason to move away if its heading towards you. These tropical cyclones can form very quickly and tend to last for up to one week (sometimes even more). The wind speeds produced from the stronger tropical cyclones can exceed 200 miles/hr (320km/hr) near the centre (known as the eye) of these weather systems. So if you want to travel in the tropics, it is wise to determine if the region you're going to is frequently hit by tropical cyclones. When is hurricane season in the United States? Well...these dangerous tropical storms occur from 1st June - 30th November according to the U.S. National Weather Service. They are most frequent from July to September, as this is the time when 70% of these tropical cyclonic storms occur. However, these cyclonic storms are more common in June and October in the Caribbean Islands. The satellite image on left displays Hurricane Katrina in the days before it devastates New Orleans and the surrounding regions. Photo taken courtesy of: One of the safest locations in the tropics you can travel to in order to escape these severe tropical storms is within 300 mile (500km) either north or south of the equator. But you must remember that the incredibly humid conditions and constant high temperatures irrespective of whether it is summer or winter can make it quite uncomfortable. The only respite from the high temperatures in this part of the world is from thunderstorms that occur almost every afternoon. These thunderstorms act as giant evaporative coolers by drawing the colder air from high altitudes down to ground level. Unfortunately, as soon as the thunderstorm moves on, the temperatures begin to rise again. What areas near the United States are prone to hurricane formation?They frequently form halfway across the North Atlantic Ocean between North Africa and the United States. Once they have formed they then travel westwards towards Cuba, the Caribbean Islands and south eastern United States. Hurricanes also form on the other side of the United States near Hawaii in the Northeast Pacific Ocean and then track eastwards before generally hitting Mexico. Here is a short list letting you know where they've hit before in the United States with devastating consequences:
The above list describes where the worst cyclonic systems occurred. Most of these region are at or below sea level. As a consequence, these locations are particularly vulnerable to flooding. However, it does not necessarily mean that they occur very often at these locations. Out of the above list, the most common places where cyclonic storms hit nearly every year is in the southern parts of Florida; coastal districts of Louisiana as well as around Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. I've also provided another list describing where these cyclonic storms occur outside of mainland United States:
If you want to travel to Peru or Chile in South America then you can be quite sure that the tropical storms do not normally effect these regions. However, on the 25th March 2004 a tropical cyclone formed off the coast of Brazil and hit the state of Rio Grande do Dul (which is located on the southeastern side of Brazil). Tropical cyclones are so rare in South America that most of the Brazilian meteorologists weren't sure if it was a typical cyclonic storm. After much debate, the storm system was named Cyclone Catarina (don't confuse it with the one that hit New Orleans named Katrina.) The likelihood of tropical cyclones forming in South America is still incredibly low so I wouldn't be too worried if you're planning a holiday in the summer months (December, January and February). Remember the seasons are reversed once you cross the equator :) Hurricane terminologyI have deliberately used the term tropical cyclone instead of hurricanes when discussing South America. Why did I do that? Well...for the same reason I would have used the term typhoon if a severe tropical storm was located near the Philippines, Taiwan, southern Japan or eastern China. The terms 'typhoon' and 'tropical cyclone' mean the same thing as a hurricane. People in different parts of the world have adopted alternative names to suit their local language. So while you are travelling it is critical to be aware of these different terminologies. In the Southern Hemisphere, people use the term tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones are a very important component of the summer rainfall in most tropical regions. South America tends to miss out, but why? The region is located in a dry zone (in comparison to other regions at the same latitude) whereby the monsoon is typically always north of the equator in any given season. This monsoon region provides the trigger to cyclone formation (also known as cyclogenesis). While it's great to travel in the summer months throughout the tropics, you must make sure you know when the tropical cyclone season occurs so you can stay one step ahead of the weather if it turns nasty. Like the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere has severe tropical storms that are the same strength as their Northern Hemisphere cousins. These tropical cyclones always tend to move toward the west and then swing towards the south. Return from Avoiding Hurricanes to Home Page.
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