More than half of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Without it, all living things cannot exist. And yet this environment is also deadly. Scientists believe that the ocean is not well studied.
The storm in the ocean and at sea is a pretty beautiful, even bewitching sight. And at the same time it is a dangerous weather phenomenon.
Storm in the ocean. What is this phenomenon?
For crews of sea ships, trawlers and other ships, a storm is always a great danger and stress. And for passengers it is doubly worse, since most of them first fall into the endless expanses of the raging ocean.
All natural disasters of this kind (cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes) appear, as a rule, when the warm waters of the tropics contribute to an increase in the intensity of wet storms in the ocean. In the process of strengthening the storm front, the rotation of its huge masses begins. A spiral is formed, twisting clockwise. This process, in turn, causes wind. Their speed reaches 322 km / h. They contribute to the swirling of giant waves on the surface of the sea or ocean. And they are already crashing down on the coast with great force.
Getting into a storm in the ocean or sea is a terrifying phenomenon. In this case, the height of the waves is from 5 to 17 meters. Visibility at that time was practically zero, as the air was filled with a large number of small droplets of water and foam.
With a deafening roar, high waves crash onto the surface of the ocean. In this regard, people at the scene of the storm hear almost nothing.
Storm classification
The storm force is classified according to the famous Beaufort Scale.
Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) - English hydrograph and cartographer, military admiral. He is the author of a 12-point scale for assessing wind speed (by the effect of wind on objects on the surface of the earth and by the waves of water in the sea or ocean). In the British Navy, this scale was adopted in 1838, and then recognized by sailors around the world.
At wind speeds between 20.8-24.4 m / s, a 9-point value is assigned to the storm. Such a storm is considered weak.
With a stronger wind with a speed of up to 28.4 m / s it is called strong, and a 10-point value is assigned to it.
You can see the photo of the storm in the ocean below.
There is also a severe storm (11 points), when air flows move with even greater speed (up to 32.6 m / s). A storm in the ocean (12 points) with a wind speed of more than 32.6 m / s is the most dangerous natural phenomenon - a hurricane.
Pacific Ocean. Is he really quiet?
The majestic and largest ocean of the planet does not correspond to its name. The name "Quiet" he received from Ferdinand Magellan, who was very mistaken about the calm on the ocean. He was just lucky. There was no storm in the Pacific at the time he traveled through it.
The Pacific Ocean occupies about half of the planet’s water surface (46%). If we conditionally combine the entire surface of the land, its area will also be less than the water surface of the great Pacific Ocean.
The ocean is restless due to the fact that strong volcanic eruptions and earthquakes often occur here. Because of this, huge tsunamis form in the ocean. In this case, the average speed of giant waves can reach 750 km / h.
The effects of an ocean storm
The storm in the ocean is one of the most powerful threats to the lives of people living on the coast. And communities living in the tropics are faced with even more severe natural disasters.
The consequences of almost all storms in the ocean and the accompanying heavy rains are incredibly terrible. Due to global warming on Earth, storms will occur more often and will be more catastrophic.
On the islands of the Caribbean, an annual cyclone storm in the ocean (Hurricane Alleys) rages from summer to autumn. It is difficult for the poor people of these islands to withstand such a powerful hurricane.
In 2003, the wind speed at the Zoe cyclone reached 285 km / h. This hurricane destroyed almost everything on Anuta Island.
