Hurricane terms to know
Eye: The roughly circular area of comparatively light winds that encompasses the center of a severe tropical cyclone.
Eyewall cloud: An organized band or ring of cumulonimbus clouds that surround the eye of a tropical cyclone.
Gale warning: A warning of 1-minute sustained surface winds in the range of 39 mph to 54 mph inclusive, either predicted or occurring and not directly associated with tropical cyclones.
High wind warning: A high wind warning is defined as 1-minute average surface winds of 40 mph or greater and lasting for at least one hour, or winds gusting to 58 mph or more regardless of duration that are either expected or observed over land.
Hurricane: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind is a minimum 74 mph. The term hurricane is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Dateline to the Greenwich Meridian.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a 1 to 5 categorization based on the hurricane’s intensity at a given time, is used to estimate a storm’s potential damage. As an example, when Hurricane Iniki made landfall on Kauai in 1992 it was a Category 4 storm.
— Category 1: winds ranging from 74 mph to 95 mph
— Category 2: winds ranging from 96 mph to 110 mph
— Category 3: winds ranging from 111 mph to 129 mph
— Category 4: winds ranging from 130 mph to 156 mph
— Category 5: winds of 157 mph and up
Hurricane warning: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of at least 74 mph) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area. The hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
Hurricane watch: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of at least 74 mph) are possible within the specific coastal area. The hurricane watch is issued 48 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
Landfall: The intersection of the surface center of a tropical cyclone with a coastline.
Radius of maximum winds: The distance from the center of a tropical cyclone to the location of the cyclone’s maximum winds. In well-developed hurricanes, the radius of maximum winds is generally found at the inner edge of the eyewall.
Remnant low: Used to describe systems no longer having convection required of a tropical cyclone.
Storm surge: An abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm. Storm surge is usually estimated by subtracting the normal or astronomic high tide from the observed storm tide.
Storm warning: A warning of 1-minute sustained surface winds of at least 55 mph, either predicted or occurring, not directly associated with tropical cyclones.
Tropical cyclone: A warm-core non-frontal synoptic-scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organized deep convection and a closed surface wind circulation about a well-defined center.
Tropical depression: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed is no more than 38 mph.
Tropical disturbance: A discrete tropical weather system of apparently organized convection originating in the tropics or subtropics, having a nonfrontal migratory character, and maintaining its identity for 24 hours or more.
Tropical storm: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed ranges from 39 mph to 73 mph.
Tropical storm warning: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area within 36 hours.
Tropical storm watch: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are possible somewhere within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.
Source: Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu. For more, visit prh.noaa.gov/cphc.
