Naming Hurricanes

• Center – this is not the same as the eye but is the area where the air pressure and wind speeds are at their lowest levels. It will not be the same along a vertical axis so you would list its center where it exists on the earth's surface. You can get the center by using radar, satellite images, and reconnaissance aircraft entering the hurricane.

• Central dense overcast – this is the thick cloud mass covering the eyewall of the cyclone.

• Direct hit – this is the when the hurricane hits at its maximum wind speeds upon land.

• Indirect hit – this is where the hurricane did not strike with a direct hit but still sustained high winds and tides that are at least four feet above what is normal.

• Eye – this is the area in the center with light winds and few clouds. The eye wall cloud is a ring of cumulonimbus clouds at the outer edge of the eye. This area can be called the eye wall or the wall cloud.

• Landfall – this is where the hurricane first reaches the coastline. It is not necessarily where the strongest winds will be and strong winds can still hit land when there is no true landfall.

• Maximum sustained surface winds – this is how we determine a hurricane's strength. As mentioned, it is averaged over 1 minute in the US and 10 minutes elsewhere at an elevation of 10 meters above the earth.

• Radius of maximum winds – this is often found along the inner edge of the eyewall; it is the distance from the storm's center to where its maximum winds are located.

NAMING HURRICANES

Hurricanes are named in order to keep track of the many hurricanes that can be occurring at one time. The names can be used for others besides meteorologists so they can communicate with one another more clearly about the storms. Names are assigned