Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 with maximum wind speeds surpassing 130 mph in August 2017. Inland cities, with vast amounts of concrete and impermeable surfaces, also have a high risk of excess runoff and flooding. Hurricane winds weaken as they move over land, but the torrential rains don’t stop.
During hurricanes, excessive amounts of rain cause streams and creeks to overflow their banks and clog storm drains and sewage systems, which results in devastating flooding. While some inland communities assume they are spared from the wrath coastal communities endure, storm impacts can occur tens to hundreds of miles outside of the storm’s eye. Not to be mistaken with storm surge, the other main cause of flooding during a hurricane is rain. Ike's storm surge washed out roadways and decimated homes in Galveston, Tex. It wasn’t even considered a major hurricane. The storm claimed 195 lives and resulted in $30 billion in damage. Imagine rushing water the height of two basketball hoops stacked on top of each other barreling toward homes, cars and buildings. The storm had a surge of more than 20 feet, the largest storm surge on record for a Category 2 hurricane. But the wind wasn’t what caused the most damage. Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane with walloping sustained winds of 110 mph in September 2008, with hurricane-force winds extending 125 miles from the center. In some cases, storm surge is responsible for the most hurricane destruction. “The Hurricane Center realized this is a problem because didn’t speak to storm surge in particular - which is the threat that kills the most people from hurricanes - so they introduced a separate storm surge watch and storm surge warning product,” Masters said. Storm surge is the leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.
Once the water reaches the shore, it combines with normal tides and creates the storm surge. Here is other extreme weather that’s associated with a hurricane: STORM SURGEĪs a hurricane barrels across the open ocean, strong winds drive the water forward. “A simple one, two, three, four, five scale is not sufficient to communicate the threat that a hurricane brings,” said Jeff Masters, a hurricane expert for Yale Climate Connections. This means a Category 1 hurricane could be more devastating than a Category 3. “It is very misleading because somebody may not evacuate for a tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane, but we have seen time and time again that these storms have had a lot of impact,” said Jennifer Collins, a hurricane researcher at the University of South Florida.Įach storm has its own personality, and there isn’t always a direct correlation between category and damage. Some experts hypothesize that people anchor to the storm category and don’t adjust for other risks. Scientists and forecasters are still learning how individuals perceive and adjust to risks as threats develop during hurricanes, Eosco said. “It ends up missing the myriad of other risks that are oftentimes more serious in a hurricane, such as storm surge,” she said. Now the wind is the scale’s strength - but also its weakness, said Gina Eosco, the division chief and social science expert at the Weather Program Office for NOAA. The scale used to include other impacts like storm surge ranges and flooding, but they were removed to reduce public confusion, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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