Hurricane Season's Greetings From Lili

Having already wreaked havoc on Cuba this past Tuesday, Hurricane Lili made landfall early this morning along the Texas and Louisiana coast that borders the Gulf of Mexico. Due to fair warning, the areas were evacuated earlier in the week. However, it remains to be seen how much damage the storm will cause, and how much that damage will cost. Forecasters say Hurricane Lili is one of the strongest of the season, with winds as strong as 130 mph.

The official hurricane season is June 1 to November 30 with late summer to early fall typically seeing the most activity. By definition, hurricanes are a particularly intense type of tropical cyclone -- which is the general term for all circular weather systems that occur in tropical waters. The storms gather power and intensity from warm sea waters, evaporation moisture, and distinct wind patterns on the ocean surface that spiral air inward.

Many hurricanes stay out at sea, but the ones that come ashore can bring high water, powerful waves, damaging winds, torrential rains, and mass destruction. Hurricane strength is measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale's categories: Category 1 hurricanes have winds of 74-95 mph; Category 2's winds are anywhere from 96-110 mph; Category 3s are between 111-130 mph; Category 4's are 131-155 mph; and catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes maintain sustained winds of greater than 155 mph.

Blown away by a new fascination with hurricanes? Learn more about the most powerful storms on Earth in the following books!

Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth
By Bob Sheets and Jack Williams
Hurricanes are as dangerous as they ever were, but the advanced meteorological technology that's used to track the storms has made them less hazardous to human life. Forecasters can now predict the path of hurricanes with relative accuracy, leaving plenty of time for warnings and evacuation. In the engrossing and savvy Hurricane Watch, the extraordinarily well-informed authors (Sheets is the former director of the National Hurricane Center; Williams developed USA Today's weather page) trace the history of forecasting and guarding against hurricanes, from the surprisingly accurate guessing-games of the 16th century to the complex three-dimensional models of the present day.

Inside the Hurricane: Face to Face with the Nature's Deadliest Storms
By Pete Davies
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch eluded the predictions of storm-chasing meteorologists and caused widespread devastation in the Caribbean and parts of Central America. Is it possible that the instruments used to track hurricanes are less accurate than we think? The adventurous Pete Davies circled the globe learning all he could about the violent storms, and the people who study them. What Davies uncovers is the subject of Inside the Hurricane, his intense and thought-provoking book of adventure, history, and science. Alarmingly, Davies argues that there are still many things about the storms that scientists don't know -- and, because of global warming, hurricanes are becoming even more dangerous and difficult to predict.

Storms and Hurricanes
By Kathy Gemmell
Part of the Understanding Geography series, Storms and Hurricanes is an informative and fun look at inclement weather from all parts of the world. Chock -- full of photos, illustrations, charts, graphs, and facts, Gemmell's detailed and thoughtfully researched book clearly explains some of nature's most awe-inspiring and terrifying creations. It's an enjoyable, educational read for young and old alike!

Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
By Erik Larson
On the evening of September 8, 1900, a colossal hurricane roared into the town of Galveston, Texas, killing as many as 10,000 people in what is still the most deadly natural disaster in American history. Larsen's engrossing and thorough history of the catastrophe relates both the tragic story of the hurricane, and the unfortunate tale of Isaac Cline: a meteorologist working for the United States Weather Bureau in Galveston. Cline believed too strongly in the accuracy of data, and that Galveston was impervious to extreme weather. Despite warnings from Cuba and other strong evidence to the contrary, Cline still thought the storm would move towards Florida. An unsettling warning that humans will never be able to truly understand or predict or control the workings of mother nature, Isaac's Storm is a reminder of the dangers of scientific hubris.

The Complete Disaster Home Preparation Guide
By Robert A. Roskind
The ominous and decidedly unironic flipside to The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook! The alarmism inherent throughout Roskind's comprehensive guide may be mildly amusing, but there's no doubt that his book offers practical and scrupulous advice. He provides specific, step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for and survive hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, chemical spills, blackouts, and other disasters. What do you do about heating, water, power, food, health, and other concerns during and after a natural disaster? Read The Complete Disaster Home Preparation Guide and find out!