1. What's the difference between a hurricane and typhoon?
Hurricanes, typhones, cyclones. They're all the same thing. It just depends where they form. Hurricanes form in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Typhoons form in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Tropical cyclones form in the Indian Ocean.
2. How do these storms form?
You need warm water, light winds, and high humidity. Hurricanes get their energy from pulling in warm, moist air at the base of the storm. The storm then extracts the heat and water and pushes the excess air out at the top of the storm. Here's a crazy fact I found...an average hurricane releases heat equivalent to the total electrical energy consumed annually in the US.
3. What about historic hurricanes that have impacted Delmarva?
First Hurricane Donna in 1960. It was the fifth strongest hurricane to hit the US. Donna is the only hurricane on record to produce hurricane-force winds in every state along the eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine.
Courtesy NHCSecond Hurricane Camille in 1969. It was the second most intense hurricane on record to hit the United States. Even though it was only a tropical depression when it passed through Virginia, it dumped 12 to 31" of rain in just a few hours.
Courtesy NHCFinally, Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Torential rains hit Delmarva. There were reports of over 12" of rain in less than 12 hours.
Courtesy NHC4. How do they come up with the storm names?
The list of storm names actually repeats every 6 years. The only way that list changes is if a storm is very powerful and causes massive death and destruction. Dean, Felix, and Noel are retired names from last year.
The Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season is off to a fast start. That hurricane season started May 15th. As of the 5 AM update from the NHC, Tropical Depression Alma was inland over Honduras about 85 miles. The circulation is expected to weaken to a remnant low and reach Guatemala or Belize later today.
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