1
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:14,300
[Music]

2
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:18,200
27 Storms: Arlene to Zeta

3
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,400
Let's exam what made conditions so 

4
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,400
favorable for Atlantic storm formation in 2005.

5
00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,300
We begin with the ocean;

6
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,500
these are sea surface temperatures for the 2005

7
00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:37,9
hurricane season, changing through time as the calendar advances.

8
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,100
Warm water powers hurricanes, orange and

9
00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:45,900
yellow areas, shows zones with water warmer than 82

10
00:00:45,900 --> 00:00:50,100
degrees; the threshold favorable for hurricane development.

11
00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,810
[Music]

12
00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:58,500
Let's start the season again,

13
00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,600
this time adding clouds back into the picture.

14
00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,400
Atlantic basin hurricanes typically form between June

15
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:07,300
and November. 

16
00:01:08,300 --> 00:01:09,900
Hurricanes often start as 

17
00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:13,200
atmospheric disturbances off the coast of West Africa. 

18
00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:17,000
Once out into the warm summer waters of the Mid-Atlantic, 

19
00:01:17,300 --> 00:01:19,200
some ripples begin to rotate,

20
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,500
and feeding off of warm water, 
strengthen into hurricanes. 

21
00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,600
Hurricanes require warm water to heat

22
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,000
air above the ocean causing a drop in air pressure. 

23
00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,200
Lower air pressures sucks more water vapor 

24
00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,800
into the storm, causing storms to strengthen. 

25
00:01:36,500 --> 00:01:38,800
As hurricanes pass over warm water,

26
00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,900
they leave trails of relatively cooler water,

27
00:01:42,100 --> 00:01:44,400
so-called cold water trails. 


28
00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,800
Numbers displayed over storm tracks 

29
00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:50,500
indicate hurricane category changes.

30
00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:52,900
[Music]

31
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,800
Strong shearing winds in the troposphere can disrupt this process,

32
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,400
weakening young storms, but measurements indicate

33
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,900
that there was very little shearing wind activity in 2005 

34
00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:16,800
to impede storm formation. 

35
00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:20,100
Hurricanes are rare phenomena; 

36
00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:23,500
only about 80 or 90 appear worldwide

37
00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:24,800
every year.

38
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,400
[Music]

39
00:02:39,300 --> 00:02:43,400
Storms stalked the Atlantic Ocean and Easter Seaboard from June 

40
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,400
until early winter in 2005 and the record books are

41
00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,200
groaning under the strain of such a busy year. 

42
00:02:50,700 --> 00:02:53,300
Consider this list of superlatives. 

43
00:02:53,300 --> 00:02:56,400
An average year produces roughly 10 storms, 

44
00:02:56,700 --> 00:02:59,700
27 named storms formed in 2005.

45
00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:03,900
An average year produces six hurricanes, 

46
00:03:04,100 --> 00:03:06,400
15 formed in 2005. 

47
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,300
An average year produces two major hurricanes. 

48
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,100
Seven formed in 2005.

49
00:03:13,700 --> 00:03:19,000
On average one category 5 hurricane 
forms every three years. 

50
00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:24,000
In 2005, there were three: 
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

51
00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,400
Wilma was the most intense 
Atlantic hurricane ever recorded,

52
00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,900
Katrina fourth, Rita sixth. 

53
00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,800
But Katrina was the most destructive 
hurricane ever to hit the United States. 

54
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,000
The total losses from storms in 2005 include 

55
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,000
more than 1,200 lives 

56
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,700
and potentially more than 100 billion dollars.

57
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:49,600
[Music]


58
00:04:02,700 --> 00:04:04,700
This visualization shows some of the 

59
00:04:04,700 --> 00:04:08,900
actual data that NASA and NOAA satellites 
measured this season.

60
00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:13,300
Data used to predict the paths 
and intensities of hurricanes.

61
00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,100
Satellite data play a vital role in helping us 

62
00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:21,500
understand the land, ocean, and atmosphere systems

63
00:04:21,700 --> 00:04:25,300
that have such dramatic effects on our lives.

64
00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,700
[Music]