Levantine hurricane

A Levantine hurricane or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Levantine Ocean, usually between the months of June and November. A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of location. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Levantine Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the Ocean of Cathay, and a cyclone occurs in the Levantine Ocean.

Tropical cyclones can be categorized by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph (34k nots, 17m/s, 63km/h), while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained winds exceeding 74 mph (64 knots, 33 m/s, 119 km/h). Most Levantine tropical storms and hurricanes form between June 1 and November 30. The Burgoignesc Maritime Navigation Administration monitors the basin and issues reports, watches, and warnings about tropical weather systems for the North Levantine Basin as one of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers for tropical cyclones, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization.

In recent times, tropical disturbances that reach tropical storm intensity are named from a predetermined list. Hurricanes that result in significant damage or casualties may have their names retired from the list at the request of the affected nations in order to prevent confusion should a subsequent storm be given the same name. On average, in the North Levantine Basin (from 1966 to 2009) 11.3 named storms occur each season, with an average of 6.2 becoming hurricanes and 2.3 becoming major hurricanes (Category 3 or greater).

Formation

Track of the largest recorded Levantine hurricanes starting from the 1804 Vitale hurricane

Track of the largest recorded Levantine hurricanes starting from the 1804 Vitale hurricane

Approximately 83% of tropical cyclones that become Levantine Hurricanes form where the Hadley Cell meets the Intertropical Convergence Zone in an area known as the Eastern Istroyan Reaches.

Steering factors

Levantine tropical cyclones are steered by the surrounding flow throughout the depth of the troposphere (the atmosphere from the surface to about eight miles (12 km) high). In the tropical latitudes, tropical storms and hurricanes generally move westward with a slight tendency toward the north, under the influence of the subtropical ridge, a high pressure system that usually extends east-west across the subtropics. The storms pick up momentum and energy in the warm North Equatorial Current across the Sea of Istroya before gaining hurricane strength in the confluence of the Sea of Istroya and the Sea of Canete. Depending on the pressure system along the Sea of Canete the storm with either continue into the southern Levantine Ocean, or more likely the tropical cyclone may turn poleward along the Urcean and Burgoignesc coast and then push either inland over the Deric States or recurve back out over the northern Levantine Ocean.

Intensity

Generally speaking, the intensity of a tropical cyclone is determined by either the storm's maximum sustained winds or lowest barometric pressure. Owing to their intensity, the strongest Levantine hurricanes have all attained Category 5 classification.

Intensity classification

In 1973 the League of Nations adopted the Standard Burgoignesc Severe Oceanic Weather Protocol (BSSOWP) as the international metric for measuring the intensity of a Levantine Hurricane as it relates to human impact. The system has been updated as new data improves the delineation between categories. In 1997 the 4 category system was upgraded to a 5 category system as measuring technology became more accurate and the broader category ranges provided for a large disparity between the types of impact at a "low" category 3 and a "high" category three. All of the categories were made narrower to address this disparity.

International Hurricane Classification Index	Category
Minimal damaging winds and storm tide Sustained winds 60-80 kts, storm tide .5-1m	1
Minor damaging winds and storm tide Sustained winds 81-95 kts, storm tide 1.1-1.5m	2
Significant damaging winds and storm tide Sustained winds 96-110 kts, storm tide 1.6-2m	3
Significant damaging winds and storm tide Sustained winds 111-135 kts, storm tide 2-2.5m	4
Significant damaging winds and storm tide Sustained winds 136 kts or higher, storm tide 2.6m or higher	5

Monitoring and Response

Levantine Hurricanes are monitored by two regional command centers, Hurricane Regional Command North (HRCN) in Levantx, off of Levantia and Hurricane Regional Command South (HRCS), in Isle des Coulettes, Audonia. Previous to the creation of the modern iteration of these commands in 1973, each nation tracked hurricanes on their own, to varying success. Burgundie and Urcea, through the Istroya Pact created a joint monitoring mechanism in the 1940s but the methods and technologies were insufficient to be very effective. Alba Concordia, and Loresia operated independent of any other nation but both had agreements at various times to sell the Levantine Union any hurricane related information. The processes for information transfer were untimely, often miscommunicated, and sometimes counter to the foreign policy of the nations involved and in 1972 the Levantine Ocean basin nations, developed the northern and southern joint command program. Implemented in 1973 the system is estimated to save the participating nations hundreds of civilian lives and $billions in recovery spending each year.

Monitoring Agencies

Agency Name	Country
Maritime Navigation Administration	Burgundie
Big Waves is scary I like land Administration	Deric States
Agency for Atmospheric and Oceanic Oversight	Urcea

Response and Recovery

While hurricane response is the purview of the individual nation’s responsibility, the Levantine Union nations take a combined approach to this type of large scale response and recovery operation. Personnel, resources, and expertise are often transferred between Burgundie, the Deric States, and Urcea to support the most directly impacted jurisdictions. This approach has led to the three nations developing a small but elite cadre of hurricane response and recovery cadre who have been selected from a large candidacy pool from all three nations. This team, Hurricane Fast Action Support Team (HurriFAST) is divided into 4 sections: Alpha, Bravo, Delta, and Echo. Charlie no longer exists as its name was retired when a large number of Charlie section was killed during the 1994 hurricane season response. Each team is equally capable and self-sustaining. They can be deployed independently or in concert to support local response and/or recovery efforts. These teams can be supplemented with reservists who are not actively part of the HurriFAST program but have completed the training, as well as private emergency response contractors like Beacon Business Continuity and Incident Management and Perfect Storm Emergency Response Corps.

Notable storms

1887 Hurricane Season

Latest season on record with 4 hurricanes occurring after November 1. 11 occurred throughout the entire season.

1994 Hurricane Season

Highest recorded number of storms in a single season, 24. 16 of them named, 8 of them over category 3, 3 of them cat 4, 1 cat 5.

Trends

While the number of storms in the Levnatine Ocean has increased since 1995, there is no obvious global trend. The annual number of tropical cyclones worldwide remains about 87 ± 10. Storms of Levantine origin are becoming more destructive financially, since five of the ten most expensive storms in Burgundie history have occurred since 1990.

Often in part because of the threat of hurricanes, many coastal regions had sparse population between major ports until the advent of automobile tourism; therefore, the most severe portions of hurricanes striking the coast may have gone unmeasured in some instances. The combined effects of ship destruction and remote landfall severely limit the number of intense hurricanes in the official record before the era of hurricane reconnaissance aircraft and satellite meteorology, primarily driven by the Burgundian Maritime Navigation Administration. Although the record shows a distinct increase in the number and strength of intense hurricanes, therefore, experts regard the early data as suspect. An Administration report in 1997 estimated an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910. These undercounts roughly take into account the typical size of tropical cyclones, the density of shipping tracks over the Levantine basin, and the amount of populated coastline.

The number and strength of Levantine hurricanes may undergo a 50–70 year cycle, also known as the Levantine Multidecadal Oscillation. The Urcean Agency for Atmospheric and Oceanic Oversight reconstructed Levantine major hurricane activity back to the early eighteenth century and found five periods averaging 3–5 major hurricanes per year and lasting 40–60 years, and six other averaging 1.5–2.5 major hurricanes per year and lasting 10–20 years. These periods are associated with the Levantine multidecadal oscillation. Throughout, a decadal oscillation related to solar irradiance was responsible for enhancing/dampening the number of major hurricanes by 1–2 per year.

Although more uncommon since 1995, few above-normal hurricane seasons occurred during 1970–1994. Destructive hurricanes struck frequently from 1926–1960, including many major Burgoignesc hurricanes. Twenty-one Levantine tropical storms formed in 1933, a record only recently exceeded in 1994, which saw 24 storms. Tropical hurricanes occurred infrequently during the seasons of 1900–1925; however, many intense storms formed during 1870–1899. During the 1887 season, 19 tropical storms formed, of which a record 4 occurred after November 1 and 11 strengthened into hurricanes. Few hurricanes occurred in the 1840s to 1860s; however, many struck in the early 19th century, including an 1821 storm that made a direct hit on Kartika. Some historical weather experts say these storms may have been as high as Category 4 in strength.

These active hurricane seasons predated satellite coverage of the Levantine basin. Before the satellite era began in 1960, tropical storms or hurricanes went undetected unless a reconnaissance aircraft encountered one, a ship reported a voyage through the storm, or a storm landed in a populated area. The official record, therefore, could miss storms in which no ship experienced gale-force winds, recognized it as a tropical storm (as opposed to a high-latitude extra-tropical cyclone, a tropical wave, or a brief squall), returned to port, and reported the experience.

References

Atlantic hurricane