Curious About Hurricanes

PODCAST 177: CURIOUS ABOUT HURRICANES

RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 20TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT TORNADOES ALL THE WAY BACK IN SEASON 2, EPISODE 31.  IT WAS ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR EARLY EPISODES.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT ANOTHER TYPE OF VERY DESTRUCTIVE STORM ALMOST 3 YEARS AFTER WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT DANGEROUS TORNADOES.  

O:  DOUBLE MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE MAILBAG!

“HELLO CURIOUS KID PODCAST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT THE WORLD!  PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED LETTER FROM MY FOUR YEAR OLD SON.  WE LOVE YOUR SHOW.”  

MEGHAN AND WESLEY.  

SO HERE’S WESLEY’S LETTER.  IT SAYS…

“DEAR OLIVIA AND JACOB, 

MY NAME IS WESLEY AND I LIVE IN NEW MEXICO.  MY BIRTHDAY IS IN JULY.  I’M CURIOUS ABOUT ROLLERCOASTERS AND THEIR TRACKS.  I’M CURIOUS ABOUT DINOSAURS, BULLDOZERS, CARDBOARD, AND HURRICANES.  ACTUALLY, JUST EXCAVATORS BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T TALK THAT MUCH ABOUT THEM BEFORE.  I’M CURIOUS ABOUT PANTS AND HOW EVERYTHING GETS MADE.  THAT’S ENOUGH.  DID YOU KNOW THAT CARS ARE AWESOME?  T-REX’S TEETH WERE AS SHARP AS STEAK KNIVES AND COULD CRUNCH THROUGH BONES.  I LOVED THE CURIOUS ABOUT CONSTRUCTION TRUCKS!  THANK YOU! 

-WESLEY, AGE 4.

“HI OLIVIA, THIS IS VICTOR FROM HONG KONG.  I’M 7 YEARS OLD.  CAN YOU DO A PODCAST ABOUT HURRICANES?  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT CAN CAUSE A HURRICANE TO HAPPEN.  AND HOW AND WHEN WERE WORDS INVENTED?  

ALL THE BEST,

VICTOR IN HONG KONG.

O:  WOW, THOSE WERE SOME SUPER E-MAILS.  WESLEY AND VICTOR ARE CURIOUS ABOUT SO MANY FASCINATING THINGS, INCLUDING A BUNCH OF TOPICS WE ALREADY COVERED ON THE PODCAST.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT HURRICANES FOR OUR LISTENERS IN NEW MEXICO, IN HONG KONG, AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN.  

D:  I LOVE ALL THINGS WEATHER AND SO DOES OLIVIA.  WE ARE SO VERY EXCITED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HURRICANES.  OKAY OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHICH STATE IN THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN HIT BY THE MOST HURRICANES THAT HAVE MADE LANDFALL?

D:  SINCE THE YEAR 1851, 297 HURRICANES HAVE MADE LANDFALL IN THE UNITED STATES.  ONE STATE HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY 120 OF THOSE 297 HURRICANES.  THAT’S JUST RIDICULOUS.  DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHICH STATE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT?  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S DEFINE WHAT A HURRICANE IS AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THEY FORM.

O:  HURRICANES ARE HUGE STORMS THAT CAN BE HUNDREDS OF MILES ACROSS.  THEY HAVE WIND SPEEDS OF 74 MILES PER HOUR OR MORE.  HURRICANES COULD BE DANGEROUS BECAUSE THEY CAUSE HIGH WINDS AND FLOODING.  HURRICANES ARE EVEN CAPABLE OF FORMING TORNADOES.

D:  HURRICANES CAN ALSO GO BY A FEW DIFFERENT NAMES YOU MAY HAVE HEARD BEFORE.  THE SCIENTIFIC NAME FOR A HURRICANE IS A TROPICAL CYCLONE.  IN NORTH AMERICA AND IN THE CARIBBEAN, TROPICAL CYCLONES GO BY THE NAME HURRICANE.  IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, THEY ARE REFERRED TO AS CYCLONES.  IF THEY OCCUR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, THEY ARE CALLED TYPHOONS.  ALTHOUGH THE NAME OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE CAN CHANGE FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION, THE NAMES ARE PRETTY MUCH INTERCHANGEABLE, SO HURRICANES, CYCLONES, AND TYPHOONS ARE REALLY ALL THE SAME.  

O:  HURRICANES FORM OVER VERY WARM WATER.  THE OCEAN WATER HAS TO BE 80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR WARMER FOR A HURRICANE TO FORM.  

D:  AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE WARM MOST AIR ABOVE THE OCEAN WATER RISES, AS WARM AIR DOES, AND THE AIR IS QUICKLY REPLACED BY COOLER AIR.  THAT COOLER AIR THEN STARTS TO WARM UP QUICKLY AND RISE, UNTIL IT IS ALSO REPLACED BY COOLER AIR.  THE PROCESS HAPPENS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, FORMING HUGE STORM CLOUDS.  

O:  THE WARM AND MOIST OCEAN AIR IS LIKE FUEL FOR A HURRICANE.  AS LONG AS THE CONDITIONS ARE JUST RIGHT, THE HURRICANE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AND GET STRONGER AS IT CHURNS THROUGH THE OCEAN.

D:  HERE’S A FACT THAT I FOUND REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT HURRICANES.  HURRICANES ARE FORMED IN VERY SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE OCEAN WHERE CONDITIONS ARE PERFECT FOR HURRICANES.  SO, THERE IS AN IMAGINARY LINE CALLED THE EQUATOR THAT GOES AROUND THE EARTH.  THE EQUATOR SEPARATES THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES AND IS HALFWAY BETWEEN THE NORTH POLE AND SOUTH POLE.  THE EQUATOR IS LOCATED AT 0 DEGREES LATITUDE.  THE NORTH POLE IS LOCATED AT 90 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH AND THE SOUTH POLE IS LOCATED AT 90 DEGREES LATITUDE SOUTH.  IN OTHER WORDS IF A PLACE IS LOCATED 45 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH OF THE EQUATOR, IT CAN BE FOUND HALFWAY BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND THE NORTH POLE.  I HOPE I DIDN’T MAKE THAT TOO CONFUSING.  THEIR IS A GOOD REASON WHY I’M DISCUSSING LATITUDE WHEN IT COMES TO HURRICANES.

O:  IT’S BECAUSE HURRICANES FORM BETWEEN 5 TO 15 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR.

D:  THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.  HURRICANES CAN’T FORM ANYWHERE.  VERY SPECIFIC CONDITIONS NEED TO EXIST FOR HURRICANES TO FORM AND GET STRONGER AND BIGGER.  THOSE CONDITIONS OCCUR BETWEEN 5 AND 15 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR.  IN THOSE AREAS, THE OCEAN WATER IS TYPICALLY WARM ENOUGH TO BE AT LEAST 80 DEGREES, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO GIVE HURRICANES ENERGY.  THERE IS ALSO ENOUGH CORIOLIS FORCE IN THESE AREAS TO SUPPORT HURRICANE GROWTH.  LET ME EXPLAIN CORIOLIS FORCE, BECAUSE I LEARNED ABOUT IT FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN DOING THE RESEARCH FOR THIS EPISODE.  THE EARTH IS ALWAYS SPINNING, OR ROTATING.  BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS SPINNING, IT EFFECTS OBJECTS THAT ARE MOVING ABOVE EARTH.  A GOOD EXAMPLE WOULD BE AN AIRPLANE FLIGHT.  MY FAMILY LIVES IN NEW JERSEY.  LET’S SAY WE WANT TO FLY DOWN TO FLORIDA FOR VACATION LIKE WE LOVE TO DO EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS.  SOMETIMES, WHEN YOU’RE FLYING ON A PLANE YOU CAN FOLLOW THE PATH OF THE PLANE WHILE YOU ARE MOVING TO YOUR DESTINATION.  IF YOU’VE HAD THE CHANCE TO DO THIS, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE PLANE DOESN’T FLY STRAIGHT TO IT’S DESTINATION.  WHY WOULDN’T A PLANE FLY STRAIGHT?  AFTER ALL, THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER IS BY GOING IN A STRAIGHT LINE.  WELL, THE REASON WHY A FLIGHT PATH IS CURVED IS BECAUSE OF CORIOLIS FORCE.  IN OTHER WORDS, THE PLANE CAN’T SIMPLY FLY IN A STRAIGHT LINE TO WHERE FLORIDA IS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FLIGHT BECAUSE THE EARTH IS SPINNING UNDERNEATH, SO IT’S FLYING TOWARDS A MOVING TARGET.

O:  YOU CAN TRY AN EXPERIMENT TO HELP BETTER UNDERSTAND CORIOLIS FORCE.  BLOW UP A BALLOON AND HAVE SOMEONE HOLD IT UP FOR YOU.  WHILE THEY ARE HOLDING IT UP, USE A MARKER TO DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE FROM THE TIPPY TOP OF THE BALLOON DOWN TO THE KNOT.  SOUNDS EASY, RIGHT?  WELL, IT’S ABOUT TO GET A LOT MORE DIFFICULT, BECAUSE WHILE YOU’RE DRAWING YOUR STRAIGHT LINE, THE PERSON HOLDING THE BALLOON NEEDS TO TURN THE BALLOON AROUND AND AROUND SLOWLY.  IF YOU TRY THIS EXPERIMENT, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE ON AN OBJECT THAT’S ROTATING IN THIS WAY.  

D:  AND, THAT’S AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW CORIOLIS FORCE WORKS.  CORIOLIS FORCE IS NEEDED TO CREATE THE SPIN OF A HURRICANE, AND THE FORCE IS STRONG ENOUGH BETWEEN 5 AND 15 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR.  IT’S TOO WEAK AT THE EQUATOR AND IT ALSO GETS TOO WEAK MORE THAN 15 DEGREES NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR.

O:  HERE’S ONE MORE INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THE CORIOLIS FORCE.  BECAUSE OF IT, HURRICANES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ROTATE COUNTERCLOCKWISE AND HURRICANES IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE ROTATE CLOCKWISE.

D:  THAT’S A REALLY INTERESTING FACT.  SO, AS WE JUST LEARNED, WARM AND MOIST OCEAN AIR IS PERFECT FOR HURRICANE FORMATION.  IN GREAT CONDITIONS, HURRICANES CAN LAST FOR DAYS, OR EVEN WEEKS.  HURRICANES GET WEAKER WHEN THEY TRAVEL OVER COOLER OCEAN WATER OR WHEN THEY TRAVEL OVER LAND.  IN THESE UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS, HURRICANES WILL GET WEAKER AND WEAKER UNTIL THEY DIE OUT.  

O:  HURRICANES HAVE DIFFERENT PARTS.  THE CENTER OF A HURRICANE IS CALLED THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE.  THE EYE OF A HURRICANE IS USUALLY VERY CALM.

D:  IT IS, BUT DON’T LET THIS FOOL YOU.  WITH A HURRICANE, THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE STORM, WITH THE WEAKEST WINDS AT THE EDGES.  THE EXCEPTION IS THE VERY CENTER OF THE STORM, OR EYE, WHERE THE WINDS ARE VERY CALM AND THERE ARE USUALLY NO CLOUDS.  

O:  ON ALL SIDES OF THE EYE OF A HURRICANE IS THE EYE WALL.  THE EYE WALL IS WHERE THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE LOCATED.

D:  SURROUNDING THE EYE WALL ARE RAINBANDS.  THESE RAINBANDS WRAP AROUND THE CENTER OF THE HURRICANE AND CAN DROP LOTS OF RAIN IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.  THE RAINBANDS EXTEND ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGES OF THE HURRICANE.  

O:  THERE IS A SYSTEM FOR MEASURING HOW STRONG HURRICANES ARE, JUST LIKE THERE WAS A SYSTEM FOR MEASURING TORNADO STRENGTH.  FOR HURRICANES, THE STRENGTH IS MEASURED ON A SCALE FROM 1 TO 5, WITH 1 BEING THE WEAKEST AND 5 BEING THE STRONGEST.

D:  DON’T BE FOOLED THOUGH, BECAUSE EVEN CATEGORY 1 HURRICANES ARE SUPER STRONG, WITH WINDS OF 74 MILES PER HOUR OR MORE.  THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE THEY DO ON LAND IS GENERALLY MINIMAL, BUT THEY ARE STILL DANGEROUS STORMS.  CATEGORY 2 STORMS TYPICALLY DO MODERATE DAMAGE, CATEGORY 3 STORMS DO EXTENSIVE DAMAGE, CATEGORY 4 STORMS DO EXTREME DAMAGE, AND CATEGORY 5 STORMS DO CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE.  THE WINDS IN CATEGORY 5 STORMS EXCEED 155 MILES PER HOUR.  THANKFULLY, ONLY 3 CATEGORY 5 HURRICANES HAVE HIT THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE YEAR 1900.  THEY WERE THE 1935 FLORIDA KEYS LABOR DAY HURRICANE, HURRICANE CAMILLE IN 1969, AND HURRICANE ANDREW IN 1992. HURRICANES DON’T NEED TO BE CATEGORY 5 HURRICANES TO WREAK HAVOC.  IN FACT, THE COSTLIEST HURRICANE IN U.S. HISTORY WAS HURRICANE KATRINA, THAT RESULTED IN $125 BILLION DOLLARS OF DAMAGE TO NEW ORLEANS AND PARTS OF THE GULF COAST.  IT WAS A CATEGORY 5 STORM OVER THE OCEAN BUT WEAKENED INTO A CATEGORY 3 STORM BY THE TIME IT MADE LANDFALL.  

O:  IN THE UNITED STATES, HURRICANE SEASON STARTS IN JUNE AND ENDS IN NOVEMBER.  A HURRICANE HAS NEVER HIT THE UNITED STATES IN ANY OF THE 6 OTHER MONTHS OF THE YEAR.  THE MOST COMMON MONTH FOR HURRICANES IN THE U.S. IS SEPTEMBER.

D:  SO EVEN THOUGH HURRICANES CAN MAKE LANDFALL IN JUNE AND JULY, IT DOESN’T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN.  ONLY ABOUT 15% OF ALL OF THE HURRICANES THAT HIT THE UNITED STATES DO SO IN JUNE AND JULY.  THE MOST COMMON MONTHS FOR HURRICANE LANDFALL ARE AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.  27% OF HURRICANES TO HIT THE UNITED STATES DID SO IN AUGUST AND 37% OF THEM HIT IN SEPTEMBER.  OKAY OLIVIA, IT’S TIME TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHICH STATE HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY ABOUT 40% OF ALL OF THE HURRICANES THAT HAVE MADE LANDFALL?

O:  FLORIDA GETS HIT BY THE MOST HURRICANES.  SINCE 1851, 120 HURRICANES HAVE HIT FLORIDA, INCLUDING 37 MAJOR HURRICANES (WHICH INCLUDES ALL CATEGORY 3, CATEGORY 4, AND CATEGORY 5 HURRICANES).  PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN FLORIDA KNOW ABOUT THE DANGERS CAUSED BY HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS AND KNOW JUST WHAT TO DO WHEN ONE OF THESE STORMS IS HEADED THEIR WAY.  

D:  THE OTHER STATES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY 10% OF MORE OF ALL OF THE HURRICANES THAT HIT THE UNITED STATES ARE TEXAS, LOUISIANA, NORTH CAROLINA, AND SOUTH CAROLINA.  HERE IN NEW JERSEY WHERE WE LIVE, WE’VE ONLY BEEN HIT BY 4 HURRICANES SINCE 1851, AND ALL 4 OF THOSE HURRICANES WERE CATEGORY 1 HURRICANES.  

WELL, THAT’S A WRA FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  177 - HURRICANES.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO WESLEY AND VICTOR FOR THE STORMY EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR THE WEEK, WE HAVE A SPECIAL LISTENER TO THANK.

O:  WE WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTER, CAROLINE C.

D:  THANK YOU, CAROLINE, FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST.  LIKE OUR OTHER PATREON SUPPORTERS, CAROLINE CAN NOW ENJOY OUR MONTHLY CURRENT EVENTS EPISODES AND ALL OF THE OTHER FUN EXTRA CONTENT OUR SUPPORTERS GET ON PATREON.  TO FIND OUT MORE, CLICK ON THE PATREON LINK IN THE SHOW NOTES.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT HORSES FOR LISTENERS IN ALASKA AND VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.