Hurricanes, Typhoons and Tropical Cyclones Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Christopher W. Landsea
Objective:
To provide informative answers to public/media frequently asked questions
on hurricanes via the World Wide Web.
Rationale:
Education of the public on meteorology and hurricanes in particular is
a topic that has been addressed previously in individuals at HRD giving talks
and occasionally providing an article in the popular literature. However,
with the advent of the World Wide Web on the Internet, HRD can now utilize
this new tool as an educational outreach method. Entries on the World
Wide Web have the potential to not only reach local residents, but also
citizens all across the United States and the world.
Method:
The Hurricane, Typhoon and Tropical Cyclone FAQ (frequently asked questions)
is an on-line document that is an ever-evolving paper. Questions that
often come up regarding hurricanes (or other global tropical cyclones) are
researched and answered in a non-technical manner with links to more
detailed information in the reviewed literature. The FAQ is available
both as an ASCII version to be transmitted via email and the appropriate
newsgroups and as an HTML version to provide the capability to include
figures and on-line links to other areas of interest.
Accomplishment:
Currently in its tenth incarnation, the FAQ is available in two parts
(PART I: DEFINITIONS, BASIC QUESTIONS, AND BASIN INFORMATION and PART II: REAL-TIME INFORMATION, DATA, AND REFERENCES) in both an ASCII and an HTML version. These are updated approximately every month and the full ASCII version is posted on the sci.geo.meteorology and sci.environment newsgroups. An abbreviated ASCII version is posted to the wx-talk and tropical-storms list-serve email groups as well as information of the HTML site.
Key references:
Last modified: 10/21/96