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The infamous ‘Hurricane Season’ began on Wednesday the 1st of June and in an effort to keep up with it’s reputation – the weather has been terrible ever since! But what exactly does ‘Hurricane Season’ really mean and what can we expect in this turbulent times?

Every year the Atlantic Hurricane Season lasts from the 1st of June through to the 30th of November, that’s a period of 6 months and despite what you may think, this does NOT mean that it is going to rain for a solid 6 months – it just means that ‘Tropical Cyclones’ (explained below) will form in the Atlantic ocean, which may or may not effect the Dominican Republic.

Being a relatively new resident to the Dominican Republic and therefore not overly knowledgeable about ‘Hurricane Season’, I decided to do a little research into the topic and here is my quick reference guide, on ‘Atlantic Hurricane Season’ and what exactly are tropical cyclones, depressions, storms and hurricanes!

(The following definitions apply to ATLANTIC Tropical Cyclones – there are different definitions, rules and characteristics for Pacific Tropical Cyclones.)

Tropical Cyclones and Hurricanes in the Dominican Republic

  • Hurricanes are a rarity in the Dominican Republic
  • The Dominican Republic has been hit by only 11 hurricanes in 80 years
  • The last major hurricane to hit the Dominican Republic was Hurricane George (category 3) in September 1998
  • Hurricane Season is not the same as Rainy Season, in the Dominican Republic, the rainiest month of the year is actually May
  • September is historically the ‘peak’ month for hurricanes, tropical storms and depressions.

Tropical Cyclones

  • A Tropical Cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical Cyclones depending on their strength are labelled as Tropical Depressions, Tropical Storms or Hurricanes.
  • During Hurricane Season, Tropical Cyclones typically develop over the Northern Atlantic Ocean near the west coast of Africa and move towards the USA/Caribbean. Whilst a Tropical Cyclone moves across the Atlantic Ocean depending on the atmospheric conditions it may develop into a Tropical Depression, a Tropical Storm or a Hurricane or it may even dissipate (go away!)

Tropical Depressions

  • A Tropical Depression is the first category of Tropical Cyclone.
  • A Tropical Depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined, closed surface circulation with maximum sustained winds of 54km/h
  • Tropical Depressions are NOT named.

Tropical Storms

  • A Tropical Storm is the second category of Tropical Cyclone, a Tropical Depression becomes a Tropical Storm when it has sustained winds over 54km/h
  • As soon as a Tropical Cyclone is classified as a Tropical Storm it is given a name e.g. Tropical Storm Arlene
    (Once named a Tropical Cyclone will retain it’s name throughout it’s life)
  • A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 56km/h and 102km/h
  • This year the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is predicting there will be between 12 and 18 named Tropical Storms – which may or may not develop into hurricanes.

Hurricane

  • A Hurricane is the third and final category of a Tropical Cyclone, a Tropical Storm becomes a Hurricane when it has sustained winds over 102km/h
  • A hurricane generally has a defined circular shape with an ‘eye’ – an area of relative calm at the center of the system.
  • Hurricanes are classified on a scale of 1-5, depending on the strength of their winds, the categories are:
    Category 1 – sustained winds between 117 and 133km/h
    Category 2 – sustained winds between 135 and 157km/h
    Category 3 (major hurricane) – sustained winds between 159 and 183km/h
    Category 4 (major hurricane) – sustained winds between 190 and 220km/h
    Category 5  (major hurricane) – maximum sustained winds over 220km/h
  • This year the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is predicting there will be as many as 10 category 1 and 2 hurricanes and 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5)

During the 6 month Atlantic Hurricane Season, there will undoubtedly be rain and storms (the last few days is enough to prove that) – but there will of course still be plenty of sunshine and lovely hot weather – so whether you live in Casa de Campo, La Romana or the Dominican Republic or you just choose to spend your vacations here, over the next few months we can look forward to long lazy afternoons on the pool or by the beach or even a spot of golfing action on the Teeth of the Dog or the Dye Fore!

Sources
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane#Hurricane_or_typhoon and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Atlantic_hurricane_season
National Hurricane Centre: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
DR1.com

Main Photo: A screen shot from StormPulse taken on June 2nd, showing a ‘Low Potential Disturbance’ off the coast of Nicaragua, effecting the Caribbean.