Because of this, the Outer Banks - barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina - often did not get timely weather information. The hurricane of 1944, which hit the Eastern coast from Cape Hatteras all the way up to Newfoundland, resulted in a major loss of life and significant damage on the Outer Banks (4).
The United States, because of its climate, has experienced numerous devastating tornado outbreaks and flash floods, the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900 was the worst single weather disaster in United States history. A Category 4 hurricane (severe but not the strongest, which would be Category 5) came ashore into Galveston, a beach town, on September 8, while the town and island still had a large population of vacationers. While the weather predictors had neither satellites nor Doppler weather, they realized a hurricane was approaching, and they did warn the population to leave the island. Possibly...
Although we will never know exactly how many people died in Galveston that day, the number is at least 8,000. Waves rose more than 15 feet, driven by winds of 130 mph. Galveston erected and 18-foot high wall to keep storm surges away, but it is possible for a hurricane to create a storm surge higher than that, and today's Galveston is much larger than it was in 1900. Galveston is not guaranteed protection, and it could take days to completely evacuate the city (NOAA, 2004).
Of course, Galveston isn't the only major city vulnerable to a major hurricane. The technological progress NOAA and the United States Weather Service have made have, however, provided markedly earlier warnings, which can help people evacuate areas at
risk in time. While far less warning time is available for tornadoes, there is no
doubt that technological progress has saved many lives from weather and weather-related events, such as flash floods.
Bibliography
King, Terry. 2004. "Radar Operations Center," in National Weather Service, sponsored by NOAA. Accessed via the Internet 11/7/04.
Larson, Erik. 1999. "History of the National Weather Service." Excerpted from Isaac's Storm: a Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. 1999. Accessed via the Internet 11/7/04. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/isaacsstorm/science/history.htm
McEnamin, Jennifer. 1996. "Tales That Will Blow You Away. The Virginian Pilot, Aug. 18.
NOAA. 2004. "NOAA…
