Storm & Security

SEASON/REVIEW Stormy Season While no major hurricanes made landfall, one unforgettable ��Superstorm�� did. For the second year in a row, the U.S. Atlantic Hurricane Season ends with the Northeast and mid-Atlantic coast having been hit by a devastating storm. Sandy, this season, and Hurricane Irene last year, caused fatalities, injuries, and tremendous destruction from coastal storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding and wind. Storms struck many parts of the country this year. In addition to post-tropical cyclone Sandy they include tropical storms Beryl and Debby in Florida and Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana. When November 30 marked the end of the 2012 season, there were 19 named storms in all, of which 10 became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. At 19, the number of named storms this year is well above the average of 12, reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The number of hurricanes is also above the average of six, with only the number of major hurricanes below the average of three. Based on the combined number, intensity and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes, NOAA classifies the season as above normal. ���This year proved that it���s wrong to think that only major hurricanes can ruin lives and impact local economies,��� said Laura Furgione, acting director of NOAA���s National Weather Service. ���We are hopeful that after the 2012 hurricane season, more families and businesses all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts become more ���weather ready��� by understanding the risks associated with living near the coastline. Each storm carries a unique set of threats that can be deadly and destructive. Mother Nature reminded us again this year of how important it is to be prepared and vigilant.��� Most Unusual Season An interesting aspect of the 2012 season was its early start. Two tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, developed in May before the season officially began. Also, this is the seventh consecutive year that no major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5) hit the United States. The only major hurricane this season was Michael, a Category 3 storm that stayed out over the open Atlantic. The 2012 hurricane season ���was one of the most unusual seasons on record in terms of its very high frequency of weaker cyclones in combination with the almost complete lack of major hurricane activity,��� according to the forecast team at Colorado State University (CSU). Several storms this year went largely unnoticed by the general public because they stayed out over the Atlantic waters, NOAA notes. A persistent jet stream pattern over the eastern portion of the United States helped steer many of this season���s storms away from U.S. coasts, NOAA explains. The number of named storms and hurricanes this year was higher than forecasters predicted. NOAA notes that year���s activity 16 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / IBS PREVIEW 2013 SANDY DEVASTATES NORTHEAST The impact of ���Superstorm Sandy��� will be felt for months and likely years for many residents of the Northeast. ���Sandy was a very atypical system that caused some of the most economic damage ever associated with a single storm in U.S. history,��� the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University (CSU) reports. ���Its destruction was the result of a combination of a mid-latitude cyclone and tropical cyclone whose northwesterly track brought major flooding to the New York City and New Jersey coastal areas.��� ���One of the most impressive features of Hurricane Sandy was the sheer size of the system. While Sandy���s landfall intensity ��� was not record-breaking, tropical storm-force wind radii extended out nearly 500 miles from the center,��� CSU states in its 2012 summary report. Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City, NJ, on October 29 after it transitioned from a tropical to a posttropical cyclone. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour and a central minimum pressure of 946 millibars at landfall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports. ���This preliminary pressure reading was potentially a record low for the Northeast coast, and is pending further review,��� it states. Sandy brought large storm surge and high water levels to much of the coastal Northeast with New Jersey, New York and Connecticut particularly hard hit. The 13.88-foot observed water level at The Battery in New York City was an all-time record for the location, smashing the previous record set in 1960 during Hurricane Donna by more than three feet, NOAA states. The Delaware River in Philadelphia also reached a new record high water level of 10.6 feet, surpassing the previous record of 10.5 feet, which was set in April 2011 following record rainfall. This new record was due to a combination of heavy precipitation and storm surge. Sandy also brought blizzard conditions to the central and southern Appalachians, where more than a foot of snow fell in six states from North Carolina to Pennsylvania, shattering all-time October monthly and single storm snowfall records. Snowfall totals across the highest elevations approached three feet.

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