Fast Facts and Photos

Not so fun facts . . .

A catastrophe, as defined by the insurance industry, is a natural disaster that causes a certain dollar amount, currently set at $25 million in insured damage
Flooding is the most common natural disaster
The most costly catastrophe in the United States was August 2005's Hurricane Katrina
The 1994 Northridge earthquake in California has been the most costly earthquake to date. It measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, resulting in 60 deaths, 12,000 injuries, and destroyed more than 8,000 homes
Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined
Over the 10-year period from 1993-2002, there were an average of 1,172 tornadoes

Dorothy we aren’t in Kansas anymore. . .

Tornado alley: A region of maximum tornado frequency in North America; a corridor stretching from central Texas northward into Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, and eastward into central Illinois and Indiana

Credit: NOAA library

Hail Hail the gangs all here . . .

Colorado is one of the most hail-prone states in the U.S.
The Colorado hail season is April 15 to September 15
Hail occurs more frequently in the lee of the Rockies than anywhere else in North America
Hail is more variable (from place to place and year to year) than almost any other climatic event
Destructive hail occurs most frequently on the western Great Plains

Credi:t NOAA photo library

Up in Smoke . . .

In 2005 Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $10.7 billion
Cooking equipment. From 1992 to 1996, an average of 97,3000 cooking fires caused 310 civilian deaths, 4,830 civilian injuries and almost $400 million in direct property damage
Heating equipment causes over 70,000 fires a year
Arson or suspected arson causes over 50,000 fires a year
Other (or unspecified) household equipment causes over 40,000 fires a year
Electrical distribution equipment, including wiring, lamps, outlets, switches, fuses, and the circuit breakers cause over 37,000 fires a year

There She Blows: Hurricanes . . .

A hurricane is a severe tropical cyclone with wind speeds in excess of 74 mph.
Hurricane season is June 1-November 30th
The Saffir-Simpson scale is used to classify hurricanes in the U.S.. It was invented by engineer Herbert Saffir and former National Hurricane Center director Robert Simpson. The Saffir-Simpson chart is shown below
The United States' worst weather disaster was the Category 4 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. More than 8,000 people died when a 15-foot storm surge flooded the island, which, at that time, was less than 9 feet above sea level. Now, the sea level of the island has been raised, and a sea wall has been built to try to protect the city.

Hurricane tracking - - the Saffir Simpson scale

Category	Damage	Wind speed	Damage	Storm surge
1	Minimal	74-95 mph	Minimal: Unanchored mobile homes, vegetation and signs.	4-5 feet
2	Moderate	96-110 mph	Moderate: All mobile homes, roofs, small crafts, flooding.	6-8 feet
3	Extensive	111-130 mph	Extensive: Small buildings, low-lying roads cut off.	9-12 feet
4	Extreme	131-155 mph	Extreme: Roofs destroyed, trees down, roads cut off, mobile homes destroyed. Beach homes flooded.	13-18 feet
5	Catastrophic	> 155 mph	Catastrophic: Most buildings destroyed. Vegetation destroyed. Major roads cut off. Homes flooded.	Greater than 18 feet