North Atlantic Hurricanes

• Main Authors: Elsner, James B, Kara, A Birol
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University PressNew York, NY 1999
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195125085.003.0004; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/52435211/isbn-9780195125085-book-part-4.pdf

Abstract Hurricanes are a regular feature of the North Atlantic basin during late summer and early autumn. But, what is the average hurricane frequency and where are hurricanes most likely to form? These are some of the questions addressed in this chapter. Specifically, a climatology of North Atlantic hurricanes (historically referred to as West Indian hurricanes) is presented based on the best-track data set. The focus is on frequencies, duration, origins, tracks, and dissipation of the known North Atlantic hurricanes over the period 1886 through 1996 (111 years). The North Atlantic basin includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The recent updates to the best-track data made by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry F. Diaz are not included in this chapter as they constitute rather minor adjustments to the data set.