At the height of the hurricane season and after the passage of tropical storm Fiona, which is now called a hurricane, here is something to see more clearly in the lexicon of these meteorological phenomena.
The storms originate from tropical depressions west of Africa and gain strength as they cross the Atlantic before hitting, as far as we are concerned, the Caribbean islands. The hurricane season begins in June and ends in November. The peak in September is linked to the increase in ocean temperature, which must be high enough to cause significant evaporation. After its formation, the tropical depression rotates clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. Storms turn into cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons depending on the geographical area where they are located. In summary, the vortex phenomenon is identical, contrary to its nomenclature. In the southwestern Indian Ocean and the southwestern and northern Pacific Ocean, we speak of cyclones. In the Pacific Northwest region, severe storms are called typhoons. And finally, in the North Atlantic and the Northeast and Southwest Pacific, a storm is called a hurricane, from "Hunraken", the Mayan god of the storm, who gave hu-ra-kan the name of the god of evil. In the Caribbean. This tropical cyclone formation basin is the most studied including the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and affecting the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada and Central America. If the terms depression and tropical storm are characterized by a sustained wind speed of less than 63 km/h for the first and from 64 to 117 km/h for the second, different categories exist to classify a hurricane. Meteorologists use a measurement scale to get intensity benchmarks. The Saffir-Simpson scale was devised in 1969 by engineer Herbert Saffir and then-National Hurricane Center director Robert Simpson. It is divided into five categories: category 1: from 118 to 153 km/h, category 2: from 154 to 177 km/h, category 3: from 178 to 209 km/h, category 4: from 210 to 249 km/h and category 5: greater than 249 km/h. Irma, which devastated Saint-Martin in 2017 and blew up to 287 km/h (estimated at 295 km/h) with gusts at 360 km/h, received the title of super-cyclone. The World Meteorological Organization assigns a name to a tropical cyclone that exceeds a certain intensity, in the interest of public safety. The naming of this phenomenon dates back to the 18rd century in order to differentiate each cyclonic episode. The Spaniards, for example, based themselves on the calendar of the patron saint of the day. Beginning of 20rd century, Australian meteorologist Clement Lindley Wragge was the first to give hurricanes personal names, choosing the first name of a woman or the name of a politician he did not like. At present, for the North Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the National Hurricane Center (National Hurricane Center based in Miami, Florida) which, every six years, has six lists of 21 names each, one list per year. Said lists follow the alphabetical order, skipping too rare letters (like Q or U) with alternately male and female first names (in English, Spanish and French). After Fiona, it will be Gaston, who we hope will be less devastating than his predecessor. _VX
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