From Arizona

- By Rashmi Menon

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• Labor Day
• The Community College
• Hiking the Grand Canyon - II
• Hiking the Grand Canyon - I
• The Niagara Falls
• Desert Dogs
• The Sears Tower
• The Navajo Code Talkers
• Driving Through McDonalds
• The Mighty Desert Warrior
• The Big Roundup
• Serving the Americans
• Martin Luther King Day
• Harvard University and Other Ivy League Schools
• Winter Wonders
• Las Vegas
• Let's Give Thanks!
• Fall Colours
• Halloween
• The Collared Peccary
• Hurricane Isabel
• Wonders of Yellowstone
• A Trip Under the Sea
• The Legend of the Kokopelli
• The Great Lakes of North America

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Hurricane Isabel

Welcome to mi casa in Arizona once again. This week you’ll learn some amazing facts about el tiempo in USA. In particular, we’ll meet a naughty girl called Isabel, who has caused a lot of trouble to many of my friends in the Northern part of USA.
Meteorologists in the US are always busy during the month of September. It is peak hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Since the second week of September, the “weather bullies” on TV have been warning the people of the US about deepening storm activities in the Caribbean Sea. These activities appeared to be headed toward mainland USA. As the storms increased in fervor, a hurricane was formed. This mammoth hurricane was christened Isabel.

A hurricane is a severe tropical ocean storm. Hurricanes usually contain winds that travel over 74 miles (119 km) per hour. Sometimes the warm tropical ocean currents near the equator spawn storms. As the hot sun evaporates the moisture from the oceans, the vapour rises in huge amounts. This cloud of hot vapour soon converges with atmospheric winds. The cloud then begins to rotate counterclockwise north of the equator or clockwise south of the equator. If the right conditions last long enough, the cloud grows in intensity and force and produces violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods. The peaceful eye of the hurricane is known as the “eye.”
Hurricanes are classified into the five following categories based on their wind speeds:
· One -- 74-95 mph
· Two -- 96-110 mph
· Three -- 111-130 mph
· Four -- 131-155 mph
· Five -- 155 mph and higher
When hurricanes move onto land, they cause heavy damage to buildings, trees and people. Most Americans never experience a hurricane in person. But they have all heard of someone near or dear who has been affected by a hurricane and its aftermath. When Isabel (Category 5 hurricane) finally hit the United States, it wreaked havoc North Carolina Coast, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It also paralyzed Washington D.C., the nation’s capital. The President had to declare a state of emergency in North Carolina. In its wake it left behind a huge trail of damage. As floods continued to plague the East Coast, millions of people had to manage without power. Hundreds were evacuated from their homes for security reasons.
In the mid 1900’s the US government funded a lot of projects aimed at trying to weaken the intensity of hurricanes. The weather conditions that cause these violent storms are so complex that the government had to give up its experiments. Now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are working on projects that will help then track and forecast hurricanes more accurately, thereby warning civilians of potential danger and destruction. Hurricanes are known by different names in other parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, they are known as typhoons. In India, they are usually referred to as cyclones.
Notes:
Mi casa = Spanish for “My home”
El tiempo = Spanish for “the weather”
Meteorologists = Scientists who study weather

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