The "dirty side" of a hurricane, explained
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Downloadwhen there's an Atlantic hurricane in
the forecast you see a lot of these
diagrams these Graphics show what's
called The Cone of uncertainty it's the
range of potential paths the center of a
tropical storm could take it's often
shortened to just the cone or forecast
cone it fans out like this because
meteorologists can't know for sure which
way the center will go but these
familiar diagrams leave out something
that's super important for mapping how
far reaching A hurricane's impact area
could be they don't show what happens
here on the dirty side dirty side dirty
side you don't want to be on this side
of a hurricane as it starts to make
landfall Atlantic hurricanes like Milton
Helen Katrina ones in the northern
hemisphere rotate
counterclockwise the center of a
hurricane is the eye a relatively calm
column of air that scientists still
don't fully understand around that is
the eye wall this is the strongest part
of the storm where the fastest winds and
highest concentrations of moisture are
moving out from that are the rain bands
swirling winds in moisture that are very
strong near the eyewall and weaken as
they move to the outer edge of the
hurricane from above a hurricane looks
pretty symmetrical but the energy isn't
distributed equally meteorologists
divide a tropical Cyclone into quadrants
like this the right front left front
left rear and right rear it's the right
side of the storm and particularly the
right front quadrant that's often
considered the most dangerous we call
this the dirty side but what actually
makes the dirty side so dangerous the
dirty side of the storm is where the
greatest winds the greatest tornado risk
and crucially the greatest storm surge
and flooding usually occur that's
because the winds here are moving in the
same direction as the storm combining
their speeds whereas the winds on the
left side are moving in the opposite
direction of the storm which slows them
down you can see the dirty side more
clearly in radar images like this one of
Hurricane Katrina look how much stronger
the winds Inside the Rain bands to the
right of the ey are compared to the left
one important thing to note though is
that the right and left side of a storm
is relative to the direction the storm
is heading so in a Northern moving storm
like Hurricane Katrina was the dirty
side on the right was to the east but
when hurricane Laura was moving from
east to west across the Atlantic in 2020
the forward moving winds were more on
top to the north and for Milton which
was moving Northeast the right side of
the storm was here southeast of the
eye the track of the storm is key are
you on the clean or the dirty side of
the storm some of the worst damage and
threat to human life during hurricanes
is from storm surge when the forward
moving Winds of an approaching hurricane
push seawater toward the shore which
causes major flooding before the storm
even hits these forecast storm surge
maps from previous hurricanes show time
and again that the most significant
threat of storm surge is at the center
of the storm in the eyewall and to its
right the dirty side and storm surge in
coastal areas isn't the only way the
dirty side can bring on huge amounts of
rainfall and deadly flooding Pen's path
found Western North Carolina sitting
just to the right of its eye and the
forward moving winds in that part of the
storm pushed warm moisture up the
southern Appalachian Mountains leading
to Historic rainfall and catastrophic
flooding hundreds of miles inland
which is why these forecast diagrams
emphasizing the cone of uncertainty
tracking where the center of a storm
might move to but omitting The Wider
potential impact areas can be misleading
when taken on their own particularly for
people living to the right of where the
center of the storm will hit this is
going to be where the potential impacts
are still felt even when Helen tracks
within that forecast cone just look at
this graphic from The New York Times
showing power outages in the aftermath
of Helen and you can see how much more
devastating it is to be on the right
side of the storm rather than the left
thankfully a lot of meteorologists do
provide warnings about the dirty side
and some are starting to add context to
storm tracking Graphics to include
potential impact zones like this one
from Hurricane Helen where you can see
the Impact Zone reaching farther to the
right then to the left as climate change
warms our oceans we'll continue to see
tropical storms gather enormous amounts
of power quickly leading to more
catastrophic flooding property damage
and threats to human life both along
coasts and Inland and knowing which side
of a future hurricane you're on will
become even more
essential really quickly before you go
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Key Vocabulary (50)
toward
"Go to school."
belonging
"Cup of tea."
also
"You and me."
inside
"In the house."
specific
"That book."
A third-person singular pronoun used to refer to an object, animal, or situation that has already been mentioned or is clear from context. It is also frequently used as a dummy subject to talk about time, weather, or distance.
Used to show who is intended to have or use something, or to explain the purpose or reason for an action. It is also frequently used to indicate a specific duration of time.
A preposition used to indicate that something is in a position above and supported by a surface. It is also used to indicate a specific day or date, or to show that a device is functioning.
A conjunction used to compare two things that are equal in some way. It is most commonly used in the pattern 'as + adjective/adverb + as' to show similarity.
Used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing. It is the second-person pronoun used for both singular and plural subjects and objects.
Used to identify a specific person, thing, or idea that is physically close to the speaker or has just been mentioned. It can also refer to the present time or a situation that is currently happening.
A coordinating conjunction used to connect two statements that contrast with each other. It is used to introduce an added statement that is different from what has already been mentioned.
Used to indicate the starting point, source, or origin of something. It can describe a physical location, a point in time, or the person who sent or gave an item.
The word 'we' is a first-person plural pronoun used to refer to the speaker and one or more other people collectively. It is used as the subject of a sentence or clause.
A pronoun used to ask for information about something or to identify a specific thing or action. It functions as an interrogative word in questions or a relative pronoun to refer to the thing mentioned.
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Why the right side of a tropical cyclone is the most dangerous. Support our work. Become a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/memberships The “dirty side” of a hurricane refers to the...
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