Blown Away: Hurrican Dean Takes a Trip to Mexico

fatalities have been reported yet from Mexico; Hurricane Dean took 20 lives in its rampage through the Caribbean last week. This graph shows the Saffir-Simpson Category (which rates the intensity of a hurricane on a scale of 1-5) and the central pressure (measured in millibars) for all hurricanes between 1851 and 2006. The measure of a hurricane's pressure is also the measure of its strength; lower pressure means more power to draw in air. Hurricane Dean was measured with a minimum central pressure of 906 mb and maximum sustained winds at 165 miles per hour. The most intense hurricane recorded struck the Florida Keys in 1935 with a minimum pressure of 892 mb. Florida is the most common state that hurricanes head to; since 1851 the state has endured 113 hurricanes, 37 of them major. Hurricanes can be also be devastating in ripping up land and homes, which makes them one of the most expensive weather and climate disasters. Hurricane Katrina racked up the largest bill in history at 81 billion dollars. The hurricane season typically peaks in September, which averages about three tropical storms and about one major hurricane in that month alone.]]>