2021 Hurricane Preparation Guide

Page 44 Understanding the power of hurricanes STAFF REPORT What makes hurricanes such frightening natural phenomena? They are powerful. On the Saffir-Simpson Scale, the measurement and categorization of a storm's wind speed, a hurricane carries sustained winds of 74 mph or more. Even at that speed, well-constructed frame homes could suffer damage, large tree branches can snap and power lines and poles will likely topple, resulting in area power outages that could last several days. Many hurricanes are a lot stronger and the destruction can be much greater. They are unpredictable. When there is a possibility of a hurricane heading your way, it's best to be informed and listen to the weather and emergency management experts. If they advise you to evacuate or prepare for a direct hit, you should do it. Just because our area has been spared in the past doesn't mean it will always be that way. We live is an area prone to these storms. You can't prevent them from happening, but you can prepare your home and family for them. Hurricane season is six months.The Atlantic hurricane season officially occurs from June 1 to Nov. 30 each year. Occasionally hurricanes appear outside of those six months, but according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center data, more than 97 percent of hurricanes occur during that time. Three of those months are especially active. Seventy-eight percent of the tropical storm days, 87 percent of the minor (Saffir-Simpson Scale categories 1 and 2) hurricane days, and 96 percent of the major (Saffir-Simpson categories 3, 4 and 5) hurricane days occur August through October. Maximum activity usually is from early to mid-September. It's mostly about the water temperature. The warm summer and early fall months provide the optimal setting for hurricane formation. There also needs to be a moisture rich atmosphere SUN FILE PHOTO Wind from Hurricane Irma damaged Colonial Manor homes in Venice. FILE PHOTO Clean up can take weeks after a storm hits. Residents should inventory all damaged items before clearing away debris. near and out ahead of the storm. If dry air is around or in front of a storm, this tends to limit it from gaining strength. As a storm moves over land, it also loses its punch fairly quickly. We have experience with tropical storms and their damage. When the devastating Hurricane Charley hit Charlotte County in 2004, it was a small, but strong Category 4. Another 2004 storm, Hurricane Ivan, spawned more than 100 small torna- does, causing more damage than the hurricane itself. Sarasota County has been fortunate in recent decades to not have a direct hit from a hurricane. The last time was in 1944 – before the World Meteorological Organization began naming storms – when a Category 3 hurricane made landfall around the Osprey/Casey Key area. In 2017, after weakening from its landfall in Marco Island, Hurricane Irma barreled hrough the Sarasota-Manatee area as a Category 1 hurricane. FILE PHOTO Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Arcadia were hit by Hurricane Char- ley's Category 4 blast on Aug. 13, 2004. The storm claimed the title of fifth costliest storm in U.S. history at the time, according to informa- tion provided by FEMA.

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