![]() But at the same time, they are part of an enormous and complicated natural system that makes our planet a place we can live. They are also much bigger than other violent storms, like tornadoes. That’s because they release an enormous amount of energy-when fully developed, one hurricane can release heat energy equivalent to a 10-megaton nuclear bomb exploding every 20 minutes. ![]() ![]() But people pay the most attention to them when they come near land, and rightly so, because hurricanes can do a lot of damage. Whatever they’re named, hurricanes all form over tropical ocean waters, which are the source of their strength. ![]() Unfortunately, if you want a hurricane to be named after you, you’re out of luck-there’s no procedure for that. Greek letters are used if the entire list is used within a season and if a hurricane forms outside the official hurricane season, it is named after the date on which it occurs. Today, the World Meteorological Organization maintains six lists of alphabetically ordered male and female names that are rotated, meaning that eventually, each hurricane name will come around again-except if the hurricane is devastating enough that its name is retired (as were the names Camille and Katrina). They initially tried several naming strategies, including naming hurricanes after the girlfriends of those observing them, but by 1953, meteorologists had begun using alphabetically ordered female names. In 1979, male names were added. Hurricanes also get their own individual names, just like new babies. In the Atlantic, this practice began during World War II, when military meteorologists had to figure out how ships and planes could navigate around hurricanes. In this article, “hurricane” will be used as an umbrella term to refer to them no matter where they are. Scientists often use “tropical cyclone” as a generic term, while “hurricane,” “typhoon,” and “cyclone” are regional terms. The reason for the three names is that these storms are called different things in different places. ![]() They are all organized storm systems that form over warm ocean waters, rotate around areas of low pressure, and have wind speeds of at least 74 mph (119 km per hour). One wind gust of 122 miles (196 kilometres) per hour was measured on the Isle of Wight off southern England, "provisionally the highest gust ever recorded in England", the Met Office said.Ī large section of the roof on the Millennium Dome in southeast London was shredded by the high winds, while all trains in Wales, western England and Kent in southeast England were cancelled.īritain's meteorological service also forecast heavy snow in Scotland and northern England.What’s the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone? The short answer is that there is none. The same level of alert was in place across southern England and South Wales, where schools were closed and transport paralysed.Įunice knocked out power to 80,000 homes and businesses in Ireland and more than 5,000 in Cornwall and Devon, southwest England, as towering waves breached sea walls along the coast. The UK capital was placed under its first ever "red" weather warning, meaning there is "danger to life". Millions hunkered down as Storm Eunice pummelled Britain with record-breaking winds on Friday, leaving the streets of London eerily empty and disrupting flights, trains and ferries across Western Europe. ![]()
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