It's Raining Fish and Spiders (11 page)

Winds 74 to 95 mph (64 to 83 kt). This is a minimal hurricane that brings a small storm surge, generally 4 to 5 feet above normal. However, this relatively small surge should not be taken lightly, as the time of the storm's arrival and the shape of the coastline are major factors. For example, if the storm arrives at high tide, then the surge will be higher.

There's little chance of serious damage to buildings in a storm this size. However, there will be some damage to various sorts of structures, especially unanchored mobile homes, and shrubbery and trees, which take a beating. Signs will be blown down as well as some power lines. At the beach or along the coast there will be some flooding of roads and minor damage to piers.

Winds 96 to 110 mph (83 to 96 kt). This is where you begin to see significant damage to the roofs, doors, and windows of buildings. There's also considerable damage to mobile homes, piers, and to poorly constructed signs on buildings and along roads. The storm surge can be as high as 5 to 10 feet at the normal high tide. Coastal roads and escape routes flood 2 to 4 hours before the arrival of the hurricane's center. Small boats in unprotected anchorages break their moorings and go flying.

Winds 111 to 130 mph (96 to 113 kt). Once a storm becomes a Category 3, it is considered major. The storm surge is generally 9 to 12 feet above normal with structural damage to residences and other buildings. Mobile homes and most signs are destroyed. Many plants are stripped of their foliage and even large trees are blown down.

Low-lying roads and evacuation routes are cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller homes and buildings; larger structures are damaged, battered by floating debris. Areas where the land is lower than 5 feet above mean sea level may be flooded for 8 miles or more inland. Residents in these areas will have to be evacuated, especially those within several blocks of the shoreline.

Winds 131 to 155 mph (114 to 135 kt). At this point, the storm surge is generally 13 to 18 feet above normal! There's more extensive destruction with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. There's complete destruction of mobile homes and extensive damage to doors and windows of permanent structures. Major damage occurs to lower floors of structures near the shore. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down.

Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before the arrival of the center of the hurricane. Any area of land lower than 10 feet above sea level may be flooded, requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles!

Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt). Whoa! This is the top of the scale! The storm surge is generally greater than 18 feet above normal. Roofs on nearly all residences and industrial buildings will be completely destroyed. Larger structures will be shattered while smaller ones will be blown away. Your mobile home is gone!

There will be severe and extensive window and door damage to inland homes and buildings. There's also major damage to the lower floors of all buildings located less than 15 feet above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. All shrubs, trees, and signs will be blown down.

Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before the arrival of the center of the hurricane. There will be massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of the shoreline.

Only three Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records began: the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (remember, the naming of hurricanes did not begin until the 1940s), Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane struck the Florida Keys with a minimum barometric pressure of 892 millibars (mb)—the lowest pressure of a hurricane at landfall ever observed in the United States. The lower the pressure, the stronger and nastier the storm will be.

When Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it caused a 25-foot storm surge, which inundated Pass Christian. Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm over the Gulf of Mexico, was responsible for at least 81 billion dollars of property damage when it struck the Gulf Coast as a Category 3. Katrina is by far the costliest hurricane to ever strike the United States.

Hurricane Wilma of 2005 was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak intensity. Wilma is the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record, with a minimum pressure of 882 mb. Fortunately, it did not make landfall at peak intensity! Wilma was a Category 3 as the time of her landfall.

Deadliest Tropical Storms in U.S. History, Resulting in Fifty or More Deaths