Question: Can a Hurricane Be More Severe Inland than on the Coast?
Hurricanes can cause devastating damages inland from the coastal regions. Damages include flooding, high winds, and torrential rains. Sometimes, the inland regions experience worse effects from a storm than the coastal areas.
Answer: Sometimes, hurricane effects can be seen inland, but not in a coastal area of a state. For example, Hurricane Dennis in 2005 made landfall as a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. After landfall, Hurricane Dennis produced hurricane-force winds over inland Alabama, but not along the coast.
Another example of the inland effects of hurricanes can be seen in Florida. Because of the peninsular shape of the state, all hurricanes are considered to have inland impacts in Florida.
References:
- Adapted from NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS TPC-57, The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States TROPICAL CYCLONES FROM 1851 TO 2006 by Eric S. Blake, Edward N. Rappaport, and Chris W. Landsea, April 2007