|
|
Article: Small swirls spin hurricane's top winds. (small, swirling eddies create most dangerous conditions) (Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 6, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Flying extremely low over areas damaged by Hurricane Andrew, a meteorologist has discovered evidence of a previously unknown whirlwind pattern that develops during hurricanes and creates the most dangerous conditions during those storms. T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago reports that these small vortices produced winds of up to 200 miles per hour that cut a narrow path of severe destruction during Hurricane Andrew.
Fujita, who has spent decades studying tornadoes, identified the new phenomenon by examining high-resolution photographs he snapped while flying only 400 feet above areas damaged by the storm in August 1992. In the past, he says, most ...