NASA On Air: Ten-Year Gap In Major Hurricanes Continues For U.S. (5/31/2016)

Credits

• Data visualizer

  • Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)

• Video editor

  • Joy Ng (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)

• Scientist

  • Timothy Hall (NASA/GSFC GISS)

• Producer

  • Howard Joe Witte (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]

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    ID: 12251 Produced Video

    Ten-Year Gap in Major Hurricanes Continues

    May 27th, 2016
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Could the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season break the 10-year “hurricane drought” record?It has been a decade since the last major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, has made landfall in the United States. This is the longest period of time for the United States to avoid a major hurricane since reliable records began in 1850. According to a NASA study, a 10-year gap comes along only every 270 years. The National Hurricane Center calls any Category 3 or more intense hurricane a “major” storm. It should be noted that hurricanes making landfall as less than Category 3 can still cause extreme damage, with heavy rains and coastal storm surges. Such was the case with Hurricane Sandy in 2012.Timothy Hall, a research scientist who studies hurricanes at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York and colleague Kelly Hereid, who works for ACE Tempest Re, a reinsurance firm based in Connecticut, ran a statistical hurricane model based on a record of Atlantic tropical cyclones from 1950 to 2012 and sea surface temperature data. The researchers ran 1,000 computer simulations of the period from 1950-2012 – in effect simulating 63,000 separate Atlantic hurricane seasons. They also found that there is approximately a 40% chance that a major hurricane will make landfall in the United States every year. These visualizations show hurricane tracks from 1980 through 2015. Green tracks are storms that did not make landfall in the U.S.; yellow tracks are storms that made landfall but were not Category 3 or higher; and red tracks are Category 3 or higher hurricanes that did make landfall.Research: The frequency and duration of U.S. hurricane droughtsJournal: Geophysical Research Letters, May 5, 2015 ||

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    ID: 11872 Produced Video

    NASA On Air: No Major Category 3 Hurricane U.S. Landfalls In Past 9 Years (5/13/2015)

    May 13th, 2015
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    LEAD: The first tropical storm of 2015 drenched North Carolina this week (May 10) with 6 inches of rain and 60 mph winds. Ana hit even before June 1, the official start date of the 2015 hurricane season. What’s ahead for the summer? Will it be like the past 9 years?1. Over the past 9 years there have been 59 Atlantic hurricanes. But during that time no hurricanes of Category 3 or higher have hit the U.S. coastline. Such a string of lucky years is likely to happen only once in 177 years, according to a new NASA study.2. Weaker storms than Category 3 can still be dangerous. Sandy in 2012, Irene in 2011 and Ike in 2008 together caused over 100 billion dollars of damage.3. But what about this upcoming hurricane season? Statistical analysis indicates that for any given year there is 40% chance of a Category 3 or higher hurricane landing across the U.S. coastline.TAG: But remember it only takes one storm in your area. Be prepared this summer. || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180_print.jpg (1024x576) [111.3 KB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180_searchweb.png (320x180) [78.3 KB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180_web.png (320x180) [78.3 KB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_1920x1080.mov (1920x1080) [293.6 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_1280x720.mov (1280x720) [388.7 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_NBC_Today.mov (1920x1080) [75.6 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_WEA_CEN.wmv (1280x720) [6.3 MB] || WC_Hurricane_2_converted.avi (1280x720) [5.6 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_baron.mp4 (1920x1080) [12.5 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_prores.mov (1920x1080) [339.2 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_960x540.m4v (960x540) [19.9 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1280x720.m4v (1280x720) [28.1 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180.m4v (1920x1080) [75.2 MB] || WC_HurricaneDrought-1920-MASTER_iPad_1920x0180.webm (1920x1080) [2.2 MB] ||

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