39 Continued from previous page In 1982 there were only two hurricanes The six most costly Atlantic basin hurricanes to date are: Katrina, Maria, Irma, Harvey, Sandy and Andrew Hurricanes travel from east to west in the Atlantic basin but the reverse can occur. This has happened at least once in a hundred years. In 1999 hurricane Lenny arose in the western hemisphere and travelled from west to east. That resulted in extensive damage to the normally well protected west coasts of many Caribbean islands In the Dow Jones Island Index, Curacao was ranked as the Caribbean island least likely to be hit by a hurricane, followed by Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Barbados and Aruba. Although the Pacific hurricane season begins in May it ends in November like the Atlantic hurricane season The strongest hurricanes can rise to 50,000 feet into the atmosphere Hurricanes can be as large as 600 miles in diameter with ‘eyes’ that are 25 miles in diameter. The “Eye Wall’ of a hurricane has the strongest winds, the heaviest and greatest turbulence. That is why damage can be so extensive if the eye of a hurricane passes over a small island A Millibar is a measurement of the air pressure. Usually the lower the pressure the stronger the hurricane. The Website Ask Tom Why says: The three Atlantic Basin hurricanes (all Category 5) with the lowest pressures on record are Wilma (Oct. 19, 2005, with 882 millibars or 26.05 inches of mercury), Gilbert (Sept. 14, 1988, 888 millibars or 26.22 inches) and the Labour Day Hurricane (Sept. 2, 1935, 892 millibars or 26.35 inches) The name hurricane is believed to be an adaptation of the Taino Native American word. Many experts say the Taino word Huracan only meant "storm". Additionally some researchers suggest that it also referred to a storm god or an evil spirit A Knot is a measure of speed. It is one nautical mile per hour. It is slightly longer that a statute mile. You can convert Knots per hour to miles per hour by multiplying the figure by 1.15 The “All Clear” after the passage of a hurricane is an official declaration that the direct threat from a hurricane is over. Nowadays activities are usually pashed back into normalcy. This is likely to be the case in 2020 with COVID-19 Storm surges have been responsible for more fatalities in hurricanes than the winds A category 5 hurricane can generate a storm surge of 20 feet or more Water conducts electricity well so walking through water with downed, energised cables is very dangerous The records show that at least 10 hurricanes have occurred in December in the Atlantic Basin
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