Hurricanes, Everglades and Weather Stuff

One of the most interesting things about living in Florida, assuming that you’re paying attention to something other than your golf score, is weather watching. They say, "If you don’t like the weather here, just wait five minutes and it’ll change." Of course, from around late May to mid-October you may not like the new weather any better. We’re right at the edge of the tropics here, and it can get pretty...well...tropical. At no time is that more obvious, nor attention-grabbing, than when there’s a hurricane heading this way.

Wind force is interesting -- extremely interesting, if you have a lot of it to look forward to. A 100 mph wind is four times as powerful as a 50 mph wind, not merely twice as forceful, and at 150 mph the winds exert nine times the force that it does at fifty. The difference between 100 and 150 mph hurricanes (Category 2 and 5 respectively) is quite literally the difference between life and death, unless you have truly sturdy shelter. At 150 mph, for example, flying sheet metal roofing cuts down small trees.

Most of the damage from hurricanes tends to be from flooding, however, because over the years the structures that can’t take the wind either are strengthened or they pretty-much cease to be an issue after a couple of storms. The reason hurricane Andrew did so much damage in extreme south Florida was due primarily to unscrupulous builders, who preyed on the innocence of "snowbirds," and the equal unscrupulousness of the officials who were responsible for their regulation. Katrina, on the other hand, demonstrated for the first time in this hemisphere where the real danger of those storms lies. (They've known about such things in the Asian river deltas for hundreds of generations.)

Two of the last three Summers have been verrrrryyy interrrrresting, as Mr. Arte Johnson used to say, and the coming one was prefaced by the formation of extra-tropical storm Andrea last week off the coast of North Florida -- three weeks before the official start of hurricane season (although there have been hurricanes in every month but February).

The NOAA Hurricane FAQ pages tell us the following:

Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 17 m/s (34 kt, 39 mph) are called "tropical depressions" (This is not to be confused with the condition mid-latitude people get during a long, cold and grey winter wishing they could be closer to the equator ;-)). Once the tropical cyclone reaches winds of at least 17 m/s (34 kt, 39 mph) they are typically called a "tropical storm" and assigned a name. If winds reach 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph)), then they are called:

"hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)

"typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)

"severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)

"severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)

"tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)

Anyway, those of us who have been through a Big One, or at least a middle-sized one, have rather more than passing interest in weather reports. The best weather information available to the average person today, in this old weather nerd's opinion, is the Weather Underground. Their site is easy to navigate, information is reasonably arranged, and you can find anything from the location of a hurricane to the wind chill at the Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole (-73 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment). Check it out. There is also a collection of outdoor photos sent in by members of the site. Check these out.

A far more pleasant aspect of living here, at least during the cooler months, is the wetland areas and their variety of critters, especially the feathered ones. (You don’t want to enter a Florida marsh when the water temperature is above 68 degrees, or you’ll find out why horseflies compete with mosquitos for the position of unofficial state bird.) If you're visiting Southeast Florida, don't miss the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a "created wetland" that not only supports an amazing array of bird life, but also returns a million gallons of water a day to the environment via bioremediation.

Today’s quote:

"The Everglades is a test, and if we pass, we may get to keep the planet."

Col. Terry Rice, formerly of the US Army Corps of Engineers







©William E. Webb, 2007-All rights reserved.