“In the eye of a hurricane
There is quiet
For just a moment
A yellow sky
When I was seventeen a hurricane
Destroyed my town
I didn’t drown
I couldn’t seem to die”
The above lyrics written by Lin-Manuel Miranda from the musical Hamilton, bring out feelings—and facts—about hurricanes. Yes, Alexander Hamilton did, in fact, survive a hurricane that destroyed his native St. Croix, according to a letter written to his father.
Back in 1772, when that hurricane hit, the science of hurricane forecasting and tracking was not developed. A hurricane was very much a surprise. Today, hurricanes are not surprises anymore, although some of their features may still surprise scientists.
Better forecasting = less damage
Technological and scientific advances have led to a 57% improvement of average 72 hour storm tracking error since 2000, and an average error in storm…
Read the full article originally published at blog.ucsusa.org.