3.5 Tropical storms and hurricanes 



Tropical storms (maximum winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour) and 

 hurricanes (maximum winds of Jk miles per hour or more), exist as part of the 

 general atmospheric circulation. In well developed hurricanes^ the speed of 

 the maximum winds near the center of the storm can reach 200 miles per hour 

 (mph) or more in the tropics, but in the Long Island Sound Region surface winds 

 probably have never exceeded 150 mph. Tides along the perimeter of the Sound 

 may reach 10 feet above normal in intense hurricanes. The accompanying pre- 

 cipitation is both beneficial and harmful, supplying needed moisture for crop 

 development if amounts are moderate, but causing damaging floods if precipi- 

 tation amounts are excessive. Torrential rainfall over a considerable area 

 is a common feature of tropical cyclones of all intensities including tropi- 

 cal depressions (winds less than 39 mph). In fact, some of the less violent 

 storms are the greatest flood producers because they sometimes linger over 

 the region for days. 



Figure 5. 

 Region. 



Tracks of hurricanes with first landfall on the Long Island Sound 



12 



