COMMUNITY ADVISORY

With this final week of May designated as Hurricane Preparedness Week, Missouri City residents are urged to be prepared for the storm season, which begins June 1.

"Hurricanes are the greatest weather threat to Texas," said John Sheffield, Missouri City's Division of Emergency Management Chief. "During Hurricane Preparedness Week, all residents should get familiar with some of the basic terms used to describe storms, so that they'll know what to do when a storm warning or watch is issued for our region."

Hurricane categories are based on the level of damage from hurricane winds. A storm forms when air over the ocean warms up, picks up moisture and begins moving in a circular motion. This forms a tropical depression: an area of low pressure that draws more air in from other areas.

When the wind speed increases above 39 mph, the tropical depression becomes a tropical storm and the storm is given a name. When the winds reach 74 mph, the storm becomes a hurricane.

• A tropical storm watchis issued when a tropical storm system is about 36 hours away from land.
• A tropical storm warningis issued when a tropical storm is about 24 hours away from land.
• A hurricane watchis issued when a hurricane is about 36 hours away from land.
• A hurricane warningis issued when winds reach 74 mph or more, and the storm is 24 hours away or less.

"When there's a major storm in the Gulf of Mexico, monitor the media and listen for instructions from Missouri City's Office of Emergency Management," Sheffield said. "Do not take tropical storms for granted. Even slow moving tropical storms can be deadly."

printer friendly