| “The storm has entered the Gulf.” For those
who live or travel near the Gulf of Mexico, this ominous announcement
commands attention, especially given the frequency and force
of hurricane strikes in recent years. Since 2004, the shores
around the Gulf of Mexico have been in the crosshairs for
an increasing number of hurricanes and tropical storms, including
Charley and Wilma in southwestern Florida and Ivan, Dennis,
Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike along the northern Gulf coast
from Panama City to near Galveston. In this definitive guide,
climatologists Barry D. Keim and Robert A. Muller examine
the big picture of Gulf hurricanes—from the 1800s to
the present and from Key West, Florida, to Mexico’s
Yucatan Peninsula—providing an extraordinary compilation
and interpretation of the entire region’s hurricane
and tropical storm history.
Drawing from their own research and from National Hurricane
Center records, Keim and Muller examine numerous individual
Gulf storms, considering each hurricane’s origin, oceanic
and atmospheric influences, seasonality, track, intensity,
size, point of landfall, storm surge, and impact on life,
property, and the environment. They describe the unique features
of the Gulf that influence the development of hurricanes,
such as the loop current and its eddies, and identify areas
of the coastline that are more or less vulnerable because
of physical environment, socioeconomic environment, or both.
They point out that the increase in population along the Gulf
Coast over the past century has led to a rise in hurricane
damage as once sparse coastlines are now lined with residents,
commerce, and industry. In addition, they assess predicted
hurricane activity for coming years in light of competing
climate theories as well as cyclical patterns over the past
century.
Keim and Muller begin their book by scrutinizing the Gulf’s
deadliest storm, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, whose victims
received little to no warning of its approach. They then retrace
2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the most costly storm, using
NHC advisories and reports. Their comparison of these two
catastrophic events shows that despite 105 years of tremendous
technological advances, hurricanes remain ultimately rather
unpredictable and human warning, readiness, and response measures
continue to be imperfect. Keim and Muller also detail other
memorable Gulf storms—the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935,
Audrey, Betsy, Camille, Gilbert, Andrew, Wilma, and more—and
give the hurricane strike records from 1901 to 2005 at thirty
locations around the Gulf. They extend the New Orleans hurricane
strike record back to the middle of the nineteenth century,
providing key insight into comparisons of storm activities
during the two centuries.
An epilogue summarizes the destructive 2008 hurricane season,
including storms Dolly, Gustav, and Ike. Plentiful maps, charts,
tables, graphs, and photos, along with anecdotal observations
and an informative text, make Hurricanes of the Gulf of
Mexico a captivating and useful volume for Gulf residents,
storm trackers, or anyone fascinated by the weather.
A native of Chalmette, Louisiana, Barry D. Keim
remembers the lasting impression Hurricane Camille made on
him as a boy in 1969. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed
his childhood home. He is Louisiana State Climatologist, a
professor of geography at Louisiana State University, and
coauthor of New England Weather, New England Climate
and Rainfall Frequency/Magnitude Atlas for the South-Central
United States. He lives in Baton Rouge.
A native of northern New Jersey, Robert A. Muller
experienced the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. He is
a professor emeritus of geography at Louisiana State University,
former Louisiana State Climatologist, past director of the
NOAA Southern Regional Climate Center at LSU, and the coauthor
of Essentials of Physical Geography Today and Physical
Geography Today: A Portrait of a Planet. He lives in
Baton Rouge. |
