Re: RC: Hurricane over France

[Lynn Kinsky <lkinsky@silcom.com>]

>In a message dated 12/30/1999 3:39:55 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>wsabg@t-online.de writes:
>
><< just for all of you non-europeans Ilike to tell you that two major
> hurricanes over France caused serious damage there. >>
>
>Isn't this an unusual part of the world to be having a hurricane?  One thinks
>of tropical or semi-tropical area as having them, but I can't remember ever
>hearing of one in Europe.  Has anyone else?
>
>Barbara McCrary
>Central coast CA

As I understand the news reports it was not a hurricane per se -- ie, a
cyclonic, moisture laden storm (which shows up very obviously on weather
satellite photos) -- but rather a  system containing strong winds at speeds
normally associated with hurricanes, or even tornados.  During the recent
spate of sundowner and Santa Anna winds we've had here on the central coast
of CA (caused by extreme pressure gradients between high and low pressure
areas) gusts in excess of 75 mph have been reported below some canyons,
putting us technically in hurricane wind levels -- but it wasn't a
hurricane.   Certainly the Eoropean winds were an unusual and disasterous
event -- but that continent does get gales and blizzards, also containing
strong winds.


Lynn Kinsky (Santa Ynez, CA)
http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky








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