How to Track Hurricanes

Posted by Anonymous , 9/5/2007 Tags:TrackHurricanes
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How to Track Hurricanes

Introduction

Amateur weather watchers can track hurricanes along with the experts. Information such as ocean temperatures and satellite observations is available to the public from the same sources used by weather scientists. Tracking hurricanes can be as simple or sophisticated as your interest in the subject.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You'll Need

  • Grid map of the Atlantic and/or Pacific Ocean

Steps

1

Step One

Learn the basic vocabulary and definitions. A hurricane starts as an area of low pressure with special characteristics, known as a tropical wave. The conditions have to be just right for the tropical wave to turn into a tropical depression. The next stages are tropical storm, followed by hurricane status.
2

Step Two

Track with data from the National Hurricane Center and other websites. The National Hurricane Center gathers information from satellites and supercomputers. There are tracking charts available for download and printing.
3

Step Three

Look for tropical waves and tropical depressions. The location of tropical waves and depressions is set out by longitude and latitude. Satellite pictures and ocean maps will also show the areas of interest.
4

Step Four

Watch a few tropical waves. Not every tropical wave becomes a depression, storm or hurricane. Remember, the wind circulation has to be just right, and the track of the storm has to be over warmer ocean water to provide energy.
5

Step Five

Enter the longitude and latitude of the storm location on the tracking map. It is interesting to read the different forecasts, even though the hurricane experts do not agree on how to interpret the data. You can use different colors on the map to represent the different forecasts from various sources.
6

Step Six

Read about past hurricanes. There are numerous accounts of how major hurricanes developed and moved through certain oceans, and the success the forecasters had in making predictions.

Tips & Warnings

  • Every hurricane tracking website uses the same data as the National Hurricane Center. The difference lies in the interpretation.
  • Read through detailed analyses on several tracking websites. You will soon find some favorite analysts and understand what they are watching, so you can watch it too.
  • Purchase your own hurricane tracking software, where you can enter storm locations on the screen, produce tracking maps and look like a real professional.
  • Always follow official weather warnings. Tracking hurricanes is an interesting hobby, but do not dismiss an expert just because you know a little about the subject.
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