Hurricanes!
Wind Speed Predictor
This Flash file allows the user to predict wind speed at any given latitude/longitude from a tropical cyclone. If for any reason this Flash file did not load, then either your javascript is turned off or you need to ugrade your Flash player.
Latest Imagery
Above images from the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Above images from Penn State Dept. of Meteorology's Tropical E-Wall |
Why Hurricanes?It all began in 1989. I was standing on a stone balcony dug-in to the side of a coral cliff on Bermuda watching these incredible waves roll in. I was only 15, but I could feel the power and gravity of the ocean, and I felt energized by the moment. Every now and then, an especially large wave would slam against the coral cliff below me, sending deep reverberations through my body, drenching me in warm ocean spray. We evacuated the island not long after, getting out just before Hurricane Dean struck. Two years later, it was Hurricane Bob. I was at Point O' Woods on Fire Island, visiting the Budds. We all watched it approaching on television. It went just east of Fire Island, and for us ignorant teenagers, it was an opportunity to swim in some of the biggest waves of our lives. We rode out to the beach on our rusty bikes through the pelting rain and driving wind as quickly as we could, turning our heads away from the rain bullets. We got in all right, wading through a swift moving stream that had formed on what was once the beach. After only minutes, we were a half mile down the beach, and we all realized that getting out of the water was going to be a challenge. We chose what looked like the smallest of the waves, and, one by one, we were all tossed unceremoniously onto the beach. Most of us were flipped several times over, and all of us landed awkwardly. We had at least one separated shoulder in the group, and all of us almost regretted our decision to go in the water that day! The best part, though, was as we came to our senses, we realized the storm had passed. We could see the line of clouds that was Bob, and in his wake, the air was so crystal clear and pure that we forgot how close we were to New York City. As the years passed, and I spent more time on Fire Island, I found myself longing for storms to form. Watching their every move, wondering excitedly if it was headed this way, hoping for some hurricane swell to ride on my board or my belly. Though I went to Boulder, CO for my undergraduate degree, surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, I was always an ocean person. In the summer of 1999, I moved to Chapel Hill, NC in preparation for my graduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill. I knew before I even walked onto the campus that I wanted to do my thesis work on hurricanes. And I did. Read it here. Interesting Reading How do hurricanes form? Check out this great little Flash demonstration that I lifted from the BBC News site. NHC Bulletin
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