Hurricanes are intense storms that originate in the Tropics. Hurricanes begin life as a small gathering of unorganized storms which gain energy from the heat of the ocean water. If certain conditions in the atmosphere are present, the gathering of individual clouds will begin to organize into a single storm. If the storm continues to feed off the heat supplied by the ocean, the organization of the cloud clusters will intensify and the winds will increase and circulate around a specific center, the eye. As a matter of fact, meteorologists place hurricanes in a category called cyclones. Cyclones are characterized by a circular wind pattern or circulation. Tornadoes, waterspouts, and dust devils are also members of this category.
During a hurricane, the air pressure decreases. This is the most important characteristic of a hurricane. Now do you think you know when Bertha passed? On July 11, near hour 14. It is at this time that the air pressure was at a minimum. Also, the wind speeds increase when a hurricane approaches. At hour 14, the wind speed and wind gust are near their maximum values of 18 meters/second and 24 meters/second, respectively. Keep in mind that Station 41010 was not near the most dangerous and intense area of the hurricane -- the eye wall. If this station were nearer the eye wall, the wind speeds and gusts would have been much higher and the air pressure would have been much lower.
