What does landfall mean? Hurricane terms and how to use them when the next storm comes
The peak of hurricane season for the Atlantic ocean is Saturday. It’s crucial to know what meteorologists are saying in order to prepare for it. The Sun News has compiled a list below of weather terms commonly used in hurricane season when storms approach our coastlines.
These terms come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal agency tasked with providing the National Weather Service which does forecasts and weather advisories.
Landfall: Landfall does not mean that a hurricane has “hit land.” It means that the hurricane’s eye, or it’s center, has passed over land. The outer bands of the storm that carry heavy rain and strong winds pass over land well before landfall. A hurricane can have multiple landfalls if it changes directions and goes back and forth across the coast.
Cone of uncertainty: A cone of uncertainty is the graphical part of a hurricane’s predicted track shown by meteorologists days before the storm actually moves in that direction. It often looks like several circles or a a cone going in a certain direction on the map that gradually gets larger. The cone gets larger to show a larger area of where the storm could go next, and is based of five years of hurricane samples.
Storm surge: A storm surge is a rise in ocean water levels generated by a storm that is over and above a normal tide. You can estimate a storm surge by subtracting the normal tide from the storm tide.
Eye wall: The eye wall are the thunderstorms and rains surrounding a cyclone’s eye. The eyewall has the strongest winds, heaviest rains and storm surges.
Eye: A calm stretch of space usually less than 50 miles wide, that forms at the center of a tropical cyclone. The center can be completely devoid of clouds or rain, making the center a sort of oasis in the midst of fury. This doesn’t mean it’s safe to go outside. The back side of the storm can often be way more dangerous than the storms before. For example, if the hurricane is heading north, winds on the back side of the storm are coming from off the shore, and contain more vicious surges and winds.
Cyclone vs. hurricane vs. typhoon: These are all terms used to name the same type of tropical storms, it just depends what ocean the storm is in. In the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean, a storm with a broad rotating system and low pressure is called a hurricane. In the Western Pacific ocean, they are called typhoons, and in the Indian Ocean or South Pacific, they are called tropical cyclones.
Tropical depression: A tropical wave that has begun to organize, and has started “to spin.” A tropical depression has winds less than 39 mph, whereas a hurricane has winds of 74 mph or higher. It’s important to note that tropical depressions can still cause significant damage, especially if the storm is slow moving with heavy rains, which can cause flooding.
Major Hurricane: A hurricane rated at a category three strength or higher. These hurricanes have speeds starting at about 111 - 129 mph. Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane in 2019 had speeds of 185 mph.
Convection: A fancy way to describe a thunderstorm formation. It’s when heat rises through the air through moisture.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.