Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and other elements of the USA. Where does the wind blow from: why hurricanes hit America Name of the last hurricane in America
The United States has been in the midst of a natural disaster for several weeks. Now, climatologists say, there is a tropical depression. It turns out that such a depressed state occurs not only in humans, nature is also susceptible to it. The weather, like people, is often capricious: sometimes there are heavy downpours, sometimes there are strong winds. Correspondent of the MIR 24 TV channel Rodion Marinichev understood the causes and consequences.
Hurricanes every day
Laura Costello from the Florida town of Islamorada jokes that now it’s time to call her Dorothy. The famous children's story that begins with a hurricane is now on almost everyone's lips in Florida. If you were able to save yourself, that’s already happiness.
“I knew that when I returned, this is exactly what I would see. But I only moved here a month ago, and just last week everything was wonderful! Now we have to start all over again. But at least she remained alive, and that’s what I’m grateful for,” says the woman.
“I, of course, understood that the fence most likely would not stand. And that there would be a lot of garbage - we knew which way the wind was blowing. But we never expected to find someone’s yacht and part of a fishing schooner on our property,” he said local resident Orlando Morejon.
There was so much destruction that the army even had to be called in to clear the rubble.
“I think it would be nice to think about rebooting this treaty, rethinking this global problem. After all, it really causes concern for many, including me,” admitted climatologist Judith Curry.
Hurricane dependence on global warming American climatologists began to study closely 12 years ago, after the devastating earthquake. Then almost all of New Orleans went under water, almost 2 thousand people died. Soon dozens of scientific papers appeared.
“One of my colleagues seriously studied this topic. He failed to prove that the severity of hurricanes is directly related to climate change. But what's interesting is that the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has actually doubled over the past 40 years,” Curry said.
Another popular word of the last week is the Gulf Stream. The ocean current, which forms the climate of the Atlantic, warms up too much in the southern part. Many hurricanes, including Irma, are moving along this trajectory.
“Overheated tropical water in the southern part of the Atlantic is simply bound to generate not one, but a whole series of hurricanes, which, in fact, happened,” - leading researcher at the Institute of Cell Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specialist in global ecology Alexey Karnaukhov.
Many Americans perceived Irma as the main national enemy, but some people take bold selfies with the hurricane. And, for example, in Florida, “Irma” was made from real weapons. State authorities had to specifically ask not to do this.
By the way, Donald Trump himself can consider himself a victim of Irma. Hurricane one of his favorite residences in Florida worth $30 million. In the meantime, the president regularly visits areas affected by hurricanes and even participates in the distribution of humanitarian aid. Ultimately, the hurricanes even added some points to Trump: his rating increased from 37 to 39%.
He managed to extract another short-term benefit from Irma. Under the pretext of fighting the disaster, the president convinced senators to raise the national debt limit. This week it topped $20 trillion for the first time in history.
Over the past 10 years, hurricanes have caused $350 billion in damage to the United States, 5 of the largest in this post.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina is the most destructive hurricane in US history. It was a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the sixth most powerful Atlantic Basin hurricane on record. Happened at the end of August 2005. The heaviest damage was caused to New Orleans in Louisiana, where about 80% of the city's area was under water. The disaster killed 1,836 residents and caused economic damage of $125 billion.
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike was the fifth hurricane of the 2008 season to approach the southeast coast of the United States. On September 4, the hurricane was assigned a danger level of 4 on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. The diameter of the storm was more than 900 km. The epicenter of the storm was located approximately 1,150 km southeast of Wilmington (North Carolina), with wind speeds reaching 135 km/h. The cyclone moved in a northwest direction at a speed of 19.2 km/h. As of 2 p.m. on September 5, 2008, the hurricane weakened to category three. The wind speed reached 57 meters per second.
Damage: $30 billion
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma is the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in Atlantic Ocean. It was the 22nd tropical storm (including one subtropical cyclone), thirteenth hurricane, sixth most powerful hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season.
Wilma made landfall several times, causing the greatest destruction in the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba and Florida. The hurricane killed at least 62 people, and losses amounted to more than 29.1 billion US dollars (of which 20.6 billion in the United States, at 2005 prices), making this hurricane one of the 5 most “unprofitable” hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and the fourth in US history.
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan is the 10th most powerful Atlantic tropical cyclone on record. It is the ninth named tropical storm and the fourth most powerful hurricane of the 2004 season. As a typical tropical cyclone of the Cape Verdean type, it formed in early September and reached category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. As it passed through the United States, the hurricane caused 117 tornadoes.
Ivan caused catastrophic destruction in Grenada and significant destruction in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, western Cuba and the Alabama coast. Damage from the hurricane in the United States alone reached 18 billion US dollars (2004).
Hurricane Charlie
In mid-August 2004, Hurricane Charlie hit Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and the US states of Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Wind gusts reached up to 240 km/h, which corresponds to category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Charlie killed 27 people. The hurricane in Florida forced the evacuation of two million people, destroyed hundreds of homes and caused severe damage to the state's infrastructure. The total amount of damage was about 16.3 billion US dollars as of 2004 or 18.9 billion dollars as of 2010. It should be noted that the hurricane hit the coast of southwest Florida at maximum power, making it the strongest hurricane to hit the United States.
The damage from Hurricane Sandy, which is currently raging, has not yet been calculated.
Photo: NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Irma, which struck the Caribbean islands and Florida, is called the strongest in the Atlantic on record, moreover, it brought terrible destruction and led to dozens of deaths. It is possible that his name will never again be used by meteorologists to name hurricanes in the future, so as not to remind people of the tragic events.
The Voice of America spoke about how and why hurricanes get their names.
Why do hurricanes need names?
Initially, the name is given to a storm that later weakens or develops into a hurricane. Nameless storms and hurricanes would make life much more difficult for meteorologists, researchers, ship captains, rescue workers, and... ordinary people. Names facilitate communication, which means they increase the level of security. This is why the World Meteorological Organization created special list names for the elements, which is updated every year.
What were hurricanes called before the naming system came into being?
Hurricanes were often named after saints. For example, the hurricane that reached Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825, St. Anne's Day, was called St. Anne. Sometimes the name was chosen to be the name of the area that suffered the most. And sometimes the name was dictated by the shape of the hurricane. This is how Hurricane Pin got its name in 1935.
How many names are on the list
Every year, 21 names are included in the list - the number of all letters in the alphabet, except Q, U, X, Y and Z - they are not used. The names are used in order: the first storm of the season is called by a name that begins with A, the second with B, and so on.
What to do if all the letters in the alphabet are gone?
This happens extremely rarely: usually the number tropical storms and hurricanes does not exceed 21. If this does happen, it comes to the rescue greek alphabet. Hurricanes are named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.
When are hurricanes called by female names, and when by male names?
At first, hurricanes were exclusively “women.” Assign to natural disasters female names started by military meteorologists during World War II. In 1953, this method was officially approved. But since 1978, after a lawsuit, the situation has changed: hurricanes began to be given male names.
How many names have meteorologists already “used up” this year?
For Atlantic coast the list of hurricane names for 2017 looks like this: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Emily, Franklin, Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katya, Lee, Maria, Ophelia, Philip, Rina, Sin, Tammy, Vince and Whitney. Florida and Georgia are currently experiencing the effects of Hurricane Irma. Storms Jose and Katya have already formed in the Atlantic and received their names. That is, 9 more names from the 2017 list remained unused.
Can a hurricane's name "retire"?
Maybe if the elements were too destructive. In this case reuse the same name may be too painful for those affected. For example, there will no longer be a hurricane named Katrina. It was removed from the list of names and will never be used again. There is a possibility that the same fate awaits the names Harvey and Irma.
People are powerless against the elements. You can only warn about its approach (and even then not always), and calculate the damage after it. Let's remember the most expensive hurricanes in US history.
Hurricane Camille, 1969
It may not be the most expensive, but it’s worth remembering. On August 17, 1969, one of the most powerful hurricanes in history, called Camille, swept through the Mississippi River region of the United States. As a result of the rampant disaster, 259 people died.
The tropical storm began on August 14, 1969, at shortest time gained power to the level of the third category on the Saffir-Simpson classification scale, passed along the eastern coast of Cuba and, rapidly continuing to increase in intensity, entered the Gulf of Mexico, causing enormous destruction in its coastal territories and destroying almost all the infrastructure at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The hurricane's wind speed reached 310 km/h, atmospheric pressure in the center fell to 679 millimeters of mercury, the recorded wave height was 7.3 meters. 
Camilla was the cause of subsequent large-scale floods, landslides and human deaths in Mississippi and the area mountain system Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. In total, the hurricane killed 259 people and caused approximately $1.42 billion in damage in 1969 dollars ($9.14 billion in 2005 dollars) 
Hurricane Andrew, 1992
The cyclone formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on August 16 and eight days later approached the United States. The wind speed reached 270 km/h. Hurricane Andrew destroyed 63 thousand buildings. 230 thousand people were forced to leave their homes.
Damage from the hurricane amounted to $27.3 billion. Before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Andrew was the most destructive hurricane in the United States on record. 
Hurricane Ivan, 2004
Hurricane Ivan On September 2, 2004, an area began to form near Cabe Verde. low pressure, the next day the hurricane rushed at a speed of 25 km/h. By September 7, the hurricane's speed reached 200 km/h. The hurricane approached Jamaica at a speed of 260 km/h. Ivan then turned toward the Gulf of Mexico and struck Alabama.
By the end of September the hurricane had reached Virginia and New Jersey. On September 22, the hurricane again passed along the southeast coast, still managing to look into Texas and Louisiana before disappearing forever. As it passed through the United States, the hurricane caused 117 tornadoes. Damage from the hurricane in the United States alone reached $18 billion, with total damage exceeding $26 billion. Hurricane Wilma, 2005
The cyclone formed on October 15 in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Jamaica. Wind gusts reached speeds of 298 km/h. 62 people were killed and damage was estimated at $27.4 billion.
It is the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean prior to Hurricane Irma. 
Hurricane Rita, 2005
It is one of the most intense hurricanes in the United States and the most powerful tropical cyclone observed in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane formed on September 17, 2005 near Turks and Caicos. It reached its maximum intensity on September 21, when the wind speed in the hurricane reached 1290 km/h or 80 m/s. At the same time, it was assigned a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The hurricane made landfall on September 24 near the southern border of Texas and Louisiana, having weakened to category three by that time. On the same day, having completely lost its strength, it lost the status of a hurricane and a tropical storm.
The number of victims of the hurricane was 120 people, of which 113 deaths occurred in the state of Texas. However, only 7 people out of 120 died directly from the hurricane; the rest were victims of evacuation accidents, disease and food poisoning. Damage from the hurricane - 18.5 billion dollars. 
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
On August 23, 2005, the most destructive hurricane in US history formed near the Bahamas, struck Florida, then passed through the Gulf of Mexico and struck Louisiana and Mississippi. The wind speed was about 280 km/h.
It was a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the sixth most powerful Atlantic Basin hurricane on record. The disaster killed 1,836 people, and economic damage was estimated at $125 billion. The heaviest damage was caused to New Orleans in Louisiana, where about 80% of the city's area was under water. Congress allocated $110 billion to rebuild New Orleans. “Help us! People, dog, cat."
Hurricane Ike, 2008 Hurricane Ike was the fifth hurricane of the 2008 season to approach the southeast coast of the United States, having previously struck Cuba. 
On September 4, the hurricane was assigned a danger level of 4 on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. The diameter of the storm was more than 900 km. The epicenter of the storm was located approximately 1,150 km southeast of Wilmington (North Carolina), with wind speeds reaching 135 km/h. In total (including Cuba), 214 people died, the damage was estimated at $38 billion. 
Hurricane Sandy, 2012
Hurricane Sandy was a powerful tropical cyclone that formed in late October 2012 and affected Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti, the Florida coast, and subsequently the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. The heaviest damage was caused to the northeastern states of the United States, in particular the states of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
The storm killed 185 people and estimated economic damage at $68.7 billion. 
Hurricane Irma, 2017
It is the longest-lasting Category 5 hurricane on record and the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of the 2017 hurricane season.
Hurricane Irma formed on August 30, 2017 near the Cape Verde Islands when a strong tropical wave emerged from continental Africa. Thanks to favorable conditions, the hurricane became a Category 2 hurricane just 24 hours after its formation. On September 5, Irma became a hurricane of the highest, category 5 danger. Wind speeds reached 297 km/h (with gusts of 360 km/h), making Irma the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone since Wilma in 2005. 
At least 134 people died from the hurricane. Material damage is estimated at US$64.8 billion. Hurricane Harvey, 2017
This is a tropical cyclone, which as a result heavy rains caused catastrophic flooding in southeast Texas in August 2017. This is the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States. It is also the strongest hurricane to hit the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
At least 83 people died because of Harvey. Damage - $125 billion. Due to flooding in Houston, cases of looting became frequent, so a curfew from 22:00 to 5:00. 
From St. Philip to Harvey, Irma and the Russian cyclone Artemia.
Bookmarks
Photo by Reuters
In September 2017, the United States was hit by powerful hurricanes Harvey and Irma. They got proper names, like dozens of tropical cyclones every year. This system helps to quickly remember and recognize a particular weather hazard: short female and male names instead of coordinates are used by the media and warning services.
According to experts, the names help to better prepare for hurricanes. And weather organizations have developed lists of names and are making sure people don't get confused by Katrina, Sandy and Irma by periodically sending the most famous names"to rest."
Ships, saints and sisters
Previously, storms were named arbitrarily. In 1842, one of the devastating Atlantic hurricanes tore off the mast of the ship Antje, which was located in the western part of the ocean. The cyclone was named after "Antje", which was one of the first official names given to hurricanes. After that, they continued to be named mainly after destroyed ships and cities: for example, the Galveston Hurricane, which hit the American city of Galveston in 1900.
Sometimes tropical cyclones received the names of saints. This is how hurricanes St. Anne and St. Philip appeared in Puerto Rico in the 19th century.
However, this method was inconvenient: without a clear system, confusion constantly arose. In the late 19th century, Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg began giving tropical cyclones female names. During World War II, this tradition was picked up by the US military: US Navy meteorologists called hurricanes Pacific Ocean in honor of wives, girlfriends and sisters.
Hurricane Sandy area. Photo by Reuters
In 1953 it appeared international system names for hurricanes and storms, prepared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with support from the US National Hurricane Center. Initially, the list contained only short female names, which were awarded to cyclones in alphabetical order: the first hurricane began with the letter “A” and so on. In 1979, the expanded list included male names to avoid “gender bias.”
From Arlene to Whittney
The first list was created for storms that originate in the Atlantic Ocean. A few years later, a similar system appeared in other regions where tropical cyclones form. Each region has its own names. All of them are published on the WMO website.
The most popular list is the Atlantic one - hurricanes named after this list hit the United States. Atlantic Ocean has a total of six lists of 21 names that are in rotation. In 2017, one set of names is used, in 2018 - a second. The 2013 list will be repeated again in 2022.
The names also alternate - first in the alphabetical order there is a feminine one, then a masculine one. The letters "Q", "U", "X", "Y" and "Z" are skipped. Storms with sustained wind speeds greater than 62 km/h are given names.
In 2017, hurricanes Arlene, Brett, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irma, Jose and Kate". Before the end of the year, "Lee", "Maria", "Nate", "Ophelia", "Philip", "Rina", "Sean", "Tammy", "Vince" and "Whittney" may appear. If the list ends within a year and storms continue to form, they are named by letters of the Greek alphabet.
In 2014 in the American scientific journal Proceedings of the National The Academy of Sciences has published a study showing that female hurricane names are more destructive than male ones. However, the work was criticized by other scientists.
There is no scientific correlation between the strength and size of a storm and its name.
Susan Buchanian
National Weather Service employee
Retirement for Hurricanes
Some cyclones, like Harvey and Irma, are more memorable than others due to their devastating consequences and media coverage. Because of this, using the same names again after a few years can lead to confusion. To this end, the WMO holds a meeting every year to discuss which titles to “retire.”
Consequences of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Photo by Reuters
One of the main criteria for changing a name is the pain it will cause to those affected during a cyclone. Since the system was adopted in 1953, 82 titles have been removed from the lists. Among them are the famous hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and Igor. In 2016, the names "Matthew" and "Otto" were retired.
Irma is called the most powerful hurricane to form in the Atlantic in recent years. last decade. Therefore, next year this name may be replaced by another. And Irma will become the tenth “I” hurricane in the Atlantic region to retire.
Name system in Russia
In Russia for a long time there was no naming system for cyclones. The Hydrometeorological Center of Russia used standard names for weather phenomena depending on their geography of origin and characteristics: southern cyclones (Black Sea, Caspian), diving cyclones, Far Eastern storm cyclones and others.
In October 2015, the organization proposed compiling its own lists of names of “dangerous weather systems.” The Hydrometeorological Center decided to focus on the European model: strong cyclones and anticyclones are also given names in the UK and Germany. Moreover, if a disaster begins outside Russia and has already received a name, then this name is not replaced.