That there is an average of nine hurricanes in the tropical Atlantic each year The 2020 hurricane season is the first in which there have been three named storms by June 2nd The Atlantic Basin includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico At least one hurricane has appeared in each month of the year in the Atlantic September is considered the peak month for Atlantic hurricanes Several hurricanes have occurred on December 25 (Christmas Day) in the Caribbean in historic times A storm is not classified as a hurricane until the sustained winds are at least 74 miles per hour Hurricane Irma in 2017 had sustained wind speeds of at least 185 miles per hour Hurricanes are downgraded to tropical storm status if the sustained winds drop below 74 miles per hour Barbados is the most easterly of the islands in the Caribbean chain Belize is not a Caribbean island, but it is also subject to the threat of hurricanes Hurricanes can do extensive damage through heavy (torrential) rainfall even if the winds are of minimal hurricane strength. It has been reported that a hurricane once drenched Texas with 23 inches of rain in 24 hours A hurricane may be as much as 600 miles in diameter The winds in a hurricane spin in an anticlockwise manner A Knot is a measure of speed. It is one nautical 25 mile per hour. It is slightly longer than 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 phased back into normalcy. This is especially likely now in 2020 with COVID-19 Storm surges have been responsible more fatalities in hurricanes than the winds The “Eye Wall’ of a hurricane has the strongest winds, the heaviest rain and greatest turbulence. That is why damage can be so extensive if the eye of a hurricane passes over a location. The eye wall will impact at some point A Millibar is a measurement of the air pressure. Usually the lower the pressure, the stronger the hurricane 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 About 100 tropical waves reach the Atlantic Ocean from the African coast each year but on average only four become major hurricanes
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