Ever Wonder What Happens to Old Hurricanes That Don't Come Ashore?

Hurricane Claudette
Sep. 11, 2009

A Graveyard for Hurricanes?

We were wondering about this, too, so I decided to try to find out. This is what I learned. The great majority of hurricanes never reach land. They live their lives at sea and eventually die a slow death when the water temperature and the air temperature above are no longer appropriate to maintain the hurricane. Hurricanes depend on warm water (tropical) and colder air above. That's why they begin as tropical storms.

This explains why for a few days, Hurricane Claudette was all the rage, with constant weather reports about her activities. Then, quietly, Claudette disappeared from the news and everyone forgot about her.

The average life span of a hurricane is 10 days, only slightly longer than the life span of a common house fly, at 7 days. So in principle a fly caught in a hurricane would most likely live its entire life in the middle of a giant storm.

Flies probably have a shorter life expectancy when they are caught in a hurricane. They have to dart around continuously to avoid being crushed by a large raindrop moving at a great rate of speed, and they never get to land on a pile of fresh dog poop, to relax and enjoy a refreshing lunch.

Hurricanes that do come ashore lead much more exciting lives and can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. They also can make a place in history, like Katrina. Katrina destroyed the professional careers of several incompetent public oficials, which was okay, but she also tore up a lot of real estate and created the conditions for the deaths of about 1600 people, plus livestock.