Hurricane Dorian: A Most Powerful Hurricanes In The Atlantic Ocean

Hurricane Dorian

According to a good source of record-keeping regarding tropical cyclone information within the North Atlantic Ocean which started in 1851, shows that there have been almost 1,574 systems of tropical storm intensity and 912 of hurricane intensity.

So, the following we are going to discuss one of the strongest hurricanes named Hurricane Dorian.

What Is Hurricane Dorian?

Hurricane Dorian was a very strong and destructive Atlantic hurricane of Category 5, the most severe tropical cyclone experienced to hit the Bahamas, and it is recognized as the most damaging natural disaster in the history of a country. It was also considered one of the strongest hurricanes reported in the Atlantic Ocean in regard to 1-minute sustained winds, with these winds rising at 185 miles per hour or 295 km per hour. Also, Dorian left behind the intensity of Hurricane Irma which occurred in the year of 2017 which was the most damaging hurricane on record in the region of open Atlantic, external side of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

It was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, the first major hurricane, and the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season.

Car Sinking in Water - Hurrican Dorian
Car Sinking in Water – Hurrican Dorian

Hurricane Dorian 2019:

On August 24, 2019 Hurricane Dorian was formed from a tropical wave over the Central Atlantic. The storm crossed through the Lesser Antilles and grew as a hurricane north of the Greater Antilles till August 28. Dorian continued to intensify over the coming days to reach its height as a Category 5 hurricane with one-minute sustained winds of 185 mph and a lowest central pressure of 910 millibars till September 1. Dorian hit the Abaco Islands on September 1 with greatest sustained winds of 185 mph, joining with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the highest wind speeds of an Atlantic hurricane reported ever at landfall.

Dorian moved on to hit Grand Bahama with the same strength, on the north of the region with merciless winds for at least 24 hours. The destruction to these islands was catastrophic; most constructions were crushed or cleared to sea, and at least 70,000 people were left homeless. After it smashed the Bahamas, Dorian further moved along the coasts of the Southeastern United States and Atlantic Canada, becoming the cause of much destruction and economic declines in those regions. Then it finally disappeared near Greenland on September 10, 2019.

Hurricane Prediction In 2020:

The top hurricane forecasters from Colorado State University stated we can foresee extreme movement again this year as well.

“We anticipate that the 2020 Atlantic basin hurricane season will have above-normal activity,” the forecast said. In addition, there is an “above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States.”

The season starts on June 1. 

Meteorologist Phil Klotzbach and other specialists from Colorado State University forecast 16 named tropical storms will develop, eight of which will convert into hurricanes.

A normal season has 12 tropical storms, six of which become hurricanes. In 2019, there were 18 named storms, six of which were hurricanes.

A tropical storm converts into a hurricane when its wind speed touches 74 mph.

Out of the eight forecasted hurricanes, four are supposed to turn into major hurricanes such as the Category of 3, 4 or 5, with sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or higher. The forecast shows there is a chance of 69% for at least one major hurricane to hit landfall along the U.S. coastline.

The team foretells that 2020 hurricane activity will be about 140% of the normal season.

The actual cause for the active season is unusually hot seawater in the Atlantic Ocean and also the absence of an El Niño.

One of the main definitive factors in hurricane forecasting is whether we are in an El Niño or La Niña climate pattern.

El Niño is a natural warming of tropical Pacific Ocean water, which leads to overcoming the growth of Atlantic hurricanes. Whereas its contrast, La Niña, distinguished as cooler ocean water, manages to build hurricanes in the Atlantic.

How Wide Is Hurricane Dorian?

Hurricane Dorian is now considered as the second-strongest hurricane registered ever, according to a National Hurricane Center meteorologist. Sustained winds of up to 185 mph, Dorian crashed into the Bahamas, its 10-mile-wide eye trained on Grand Bahama on September 1.

Lance Wood, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, told Live Science, considering the challenge in predicting the track of Hurricane. “When they get into these weak flow patterns, where there’s not much to steer them, we can have these erratic tracks. It’s not common, but it’s not unprecedented.”

Hurricanes are normally driven by the wind patterns in the middle part of the atmosphere, he further described. “In this particular case, Dorian had a pretty good north-northwest movement in the 10 to 12 mile-per-hour range, but it was being [primarily] steered by being south of a high-pressure area in the Atlantic and that began to weaken on the west side. And the winds weakened, so it’s not going to have a lot to steer it. So it’s moving really slow.”

Deaths And Damage From Hurricane Dorian:

Destruction in the Bahamas was catastrophic because of the extended and extreme storm situations, such as high winds, heavy rainfall and storm wave, with thousands of homes damaged and at least 77 immediate deaths recorded, 74 of which happened in the Bahamas. The exact death toll is unknown, but news sources in the Bahamas told that it is significantly higher. As of December 7, 2019, more than 282 people are listed as missing. Dorian is by far the most harmful disaster in Bahamian history, expected to have left behind $3.4 billion in destruction.

Facts About Hurricane Dorian:

Below are five facts about this powerful storm to date:

  • Dorian is now the fifth hurricane to reach category five—the highest level possible on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale—over the past four hurricane seasons in the North Atlantic.
  • At times, Dorian moved slower than most people walk along its devastating path over the Bahamas.
  • Dorian went through not just one, but two rapid intensifications (i.e. greater than 35 miles per hour increase in wind speed in less than 24 hours).
  • Dorian generated a massive storm surge in the Bahamas.
  • Dorian’s forecast is similar to recent major damaging hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

So, these are some of the information about Hurricane Dorian and what damage it has done in 2019. We also include some weather forecasts regarding hurricanes in 2020. We hope it will help you.

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