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Discover the key events and highlights of severe windstorms, hurricanes, and cyclones in 2014. Learn about major storms like Hurricane Arthur, Gonzalo, and Typhoon Vongfong, as well as their impacts on regions like Bermuda and India. Find out how El Niño affected hurricane patterns and explore the 2014 storm tracks across various basins. Stay informed about the most active Eastern Pacific hurricane season since 1992, with insights on notable cyclones and typhoons that occurred throughout the year.
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NOTABLE EVENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2014 HIGHLIGHTS OF SEVERE WINDSTORMS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA
November 30th marked the official end of a quiet 2014 Atlantic Basin hurricane season. There were eight named storms, six of which were hurricanes, with only two (Edouard and Gonzalo) becoming major storms
HIGHLIGHTS • The Atlantic basin, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, produced the fewest tropical cyclones and fewest named storms since 1997.
HIGHLIGHTS • The Atlantic basin brought the strongest landfalling hurricane (ARTHUR) in the mainland USA in six years • Later, the strongest hurricane to occur anywhere in the Atlantic basin in four years happened.
HURRICANE ARTHUR • Arthur made landfall in eastern North Carolina on July 3 with 166 kph (100 mph) winds, the first Category 2 or stronger landfall in the Lower 48 since Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008. • Arthur was the first hurricane in 12 years to make landfall on the USA mainland without any direct fatalities; the last --Hurricane Lili in 2002
BERMUDA • Bermuda, a tiny cluster of islands, which have a combined land area of less than 21 square miles, about three-fifths the size of Manhattan, had never been affected by two named storms so close together in time, with both of them making landfall.
HIGHLIGHTS • Two named storms made landfall in Bermuda just six days apart: Tropical Storm Fay on Oct. 12, followed by Hurricane Gonzalo on Oct. 18.
HURRICANE GONZALO • Gonzalo, a CAT 4 storm before reaching Bermuda and the strongest hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic basin since Igor in September 2010, was Bermuda’s strongest and most damaging hurricane since Fabian in 2003 • Gonzalo left behind an estimated $200 million to $400 million in damage.
November 30th marked the official end of a very active 2014 Eastern Pacific hurricane season– the most active season since 1992.
There were 20 named storms, the most in 22 years, peaking 2-3 years after El Niño . Of those named storms, 14 became hurricanes, with nine of them developing into major hurricanes.
HIGHLIGHTS • Hurricane Amanda became the strongast May hurricane on record in the Eastern Pacific basin. • Hurricane Marie became the sixth-strongest Pacific hurricane on record. • Hurricane Ana became the longest-lived Central Pacific tropical cyclone in the satellite era, lasting 13 days (Oct. 13-26) in that basin.
Amanda, the first hurricane of the season never made landfall, but it became the strongest May hurricane on record in the Eastern Pacific Basin when its maximum sustained winds reached 155 mph on May 25, putting it at the top end of the Category 4 range on the five-category scale.
El Niño (cyclical surges of warm water at the equator) • In general, meteorologists believe that El Niño conditions suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic and increase it in the Pacific. • A new study suggests that there may be a delayed reaction, with peak hurricane activity in the northeastern Pacific happening two or three years after an El Niño peak.
PACIFIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND TYPHOONS The 2014 season ran throughout the entire year, although most storms developed between May and October
Total Storms: 22Typhoons: 11Super Typhoons: 8Fatalities: 481Damage: $8.29 billion
The First Storm System Formed January 14thThe strongest, VONGFONG, Formed October 2nd to 14th
VONGFONG: A HUGE STORM • On Oct 7, in just 24 hours, Vongfong intensified from a CAT 2 storm to a super typhoon with 155+ mph wind speeds, and an estimated central pressure of 908 milibars.
TYPHOON VONGFONG REACHED OKINAWA • Vongfong, which reached Okinawa on Sunday afternoon, October 12th, reached Tokyo on Tuesday, butas a much weaker storm
TYPHOON VONGFONG: INITIAL REPORTS • 35 people were reported injured in Okinawa and Kyushu, where 150,000 people were evacuated. • The typhoon toppled trees, flooded streets and cut power to more than 60,000 homes.
CYCLONE HUDHUD: OCTOBER 12 • Hudhud hit the southern port city of Visakhapatnam, location of a major naval base, close to noon. • 400,000 people were evacuated earlier from the States of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
CYCLONE HUDHUD: INITIAL REPORTS • The States of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh experienced high winds and heavy rainfall. • Six killed. • Power was disrupted and communications collapsed
1999, 2013, AND 2014 • Fifteen years ago, more than 10,000 people were killed when a cyclone hit roughly the same area, which lacked significant evacuation capability. • In October, 2013, Cyclone Phailin resulted in 800,000 being evacuated with few deaths. • October 12, 2014; 400,000 evacuated with 6 deaths
CONCLUSION: A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN EVACUATION • India’s evacuation operations have improved significantly during the past 15 years, with a corresponding significant reduction in mortality.
