URBAN WX SERIES:
STORM DAMAGE
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METEOROLOGIST JEFF HABY
Tornadoes and hurricanes are not attracted or unattracted to urban areas but it can be expected that storm damage in urban areas will
increase in the future. This is due to urban areas progressively occupying a larger area. As urban area increases, the chance that a
severe storm will move over the urban area instead of over vegetated fields or forests will increase. Also, much of the world’s population
lives near the coast. The population and construction in coastal areas will continue to increase in the future thus increasing the
damage risk in hurricane prone areas.
Storms can produce damage through flash floods, hail, strong straight-line winds, tornado winds, hurricane winds, and lightning. Urban
areas do not allow water to soak in the ground where concrete covers the ground thus a very good drainage system is needed to reduce
the threat of flooding from flash floods. Sometimes the rain is too heavy to be removed fast enough and it can lead to flood damage. River
floods also can flood urban areas near the river or stream system. It can cost a significant amount of resources to block river waters from
flooding buildings. Hail can do significant damage to exposed vehicles, roofs and other structures. Hail storms lead to a significant
amount of the insurance claims that take place. Strong straight-line winds are convective wind gusts from thunderstorms. These can do
damage to fencing and any other structure exposed to the wind. The snapping of tree branches can produce damage when the branches fall
on housing, business structures or vehicles. Tornado winds only impact a very small area of land but where they do strike the damage
can be very severe. Lightning is a threat to temporarily cutting out power, starting fires and damaging the structures it strikes. Severe weather will
continue to be a dominate reason for having high quality weather analysis and forecasting. Knowing the threat can save
lives and reduce damage costs.
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