Ocean storms, including cyclonic systems, can threaten ships and property on land. Tropical cyclones are the most destructive and form in warm waters, threatening the Caribbean and American continents. Other types of cyclones can also cause damage and force ships to seek alternative routes. High waves and currents can also pose a danger to swimmers and cause beach erosion.
An ocean storm can refer to any storm in the ocean, but most commonly refers to cyclonic systems that begin or gain strength at sea. These storms get the most attention when they come in the form of tropical cyclones, but these cyclones represent only a fraction of the world’s oceanic storm systems. An ocean storm system can be a very serious event and can threaten ships at sea, as well as property on land.
Cyclones are storms that have a mass of air that rotates around a low pressure center. The closer to the center of this type of ocean storm, the stronger the winds will be, but the entire storm system can still be quite dangerous. In the northern hemisphere, these systems rotate counterclockwise. The opposite rotation is seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
The reason tropical cyclones get the most media attention is because they are the most destructive weather events on Earth, if they make landfall. In the Atlantic Ocean, oceanic storm systems exit the coasts of Africa and gather force on warm water as they travel west, and can eventually threaten land in the Caribbean, as well as the American continents. These systems can also weaken or move away from land, possibly losing strength under wind shear or colder waters.
Hurricanes also form in other parts of the Earth, although they are usually called cyclones or typhoons if they form outside the Atlantic. They form in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans in places where the water is warmer. In these areas they can threaten Lower Asia, Baja California or Mexico. In some cases, these ocean storm systems can be even more severe than Atlantic hurricanes, due to lax building standards and higher populations in coastal areas.
In addition to tropical cyclones, there are other cyclones named after the latitudes at which they occur. These include extratropical cyclones, mid-latitude and low-polar cyclones. While these systems are generally not as strong as tropical systems, they can cause damage. Ships may be forced to seek alternative routes to avoid waves higher than ocean storms.
Not only do these storms cause problems on the high seas, they can also cause problems near the coast and on land, even if they never hit land. Strong ocean currents and high waves have the potential to overwhelm swimmers, which is why many communities close beaches when a storm is in the area. Additionally, high seas can cause significant beach erosion, leading to costly restoration efforts.
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