Leticia Mendez Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A 11/9/2011
Personal Understandings and What Is Known
My personal understandings:
What is a Hurricane?
According to the National Hurricane Center: A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, which is a generic term for a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms and, in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth's surface. Tropical cyclones are classified as follows:
1) Tropical Depression
An organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds* of 38 mph (33 kt**) or less
2) Tropical Storm
An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)
3) Hurricane
An intense tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 kt) or higher
4) Hurricanes are categorized according to the strength of their winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
a) Category 1 storm has the lowest wind speeds
b) Category 5 hurricane has the strongest.
5) What is known
a) Galveston city was a city with full potential of becoming a huge city mainly because it had a port and the population had risen to 37,000 plus residents in a short amount of time.
b) Because the town was booming the towns Chief weather person (Larson)
c) 1900 the “deadliest hurricane hit Galveston full force.” (Larson)
d) The storm hit at a. Category Four Hurricane (Sustained winds 131-155 mph, 114-135 kt, or 210-249 km/hr). Catastrophic damage will occur (Larson)
e) The communication between the Weather Bureau and Galveston Chief of Weather Isaac Klein was not conclusive due to the fact that the storm was originally heading Northeast. By the time Mr. Klein decided to raise the hurricane flag and alarm the residents the hurricane was already upon them. (Larson)
f) There was no time to evacuate and no means to do so either, the only thing the residents could do was to ride the storm.
g) Over 6000 died and thousands more were hurt (Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A)
h) The currents of the waves plowed through the city tearing down structures and homes. “The hurricane pushed a wall of water over 15 feet deep onto the island that, at its highest point, was only 8.7 feet above sea level. (Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A)People never knew the extent of the storm until the past and the sun came out.
i) The storm was so strong that the remnants made it across the Great Lakes and into Canada sometime on September 12, 1900 and finally disappearing into the North Atlantic. (Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A)
6) What is unknown
a) Are hurricanes increasing in intensity and frequency? (Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A, 2007)
b) How can people protect themselves from these hurricanes?
c) How long do these storms last?
d) What is the economic impact after these storms?
e) How are hurricanes started?
f) What makes one more powerful than the other?
g) What guides their path?
h) How to prepare for hurricanes?
Work cited
Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Cycle A. (2007, October 14). Retrieved November 09, 2011, from ESSEA: http://esseacourses.strategies.org/private/learner.module.php?course_id=397&coursemodule_id=931&cycle=A&cycle_label=7
Hurricane Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2011, from National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml
Larson, E. (n.d.). Great Disasters: Galveston Hurricane 1900: Isaac's Storm (full documentary. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uz2GvDJHMg