Geoprocessing - Hurricanes / Tornadoes 1970-2010

For this week's blog I decided to look at the hurricane paths in the United States between 1970-2010, by decade. What I was hoping to look at was the path of the hurricanes on land, the counties affected within a 25 mile buffer, the black population in relation to these hurricanes, any patterns over the forty years, and lastly look at tornado patterns during the same timeframe.

I ended up with four map for three different inquiries. What I was hoping to track was first the historical risk over the span of forty years. Second, if the black population was continually more impacted by hurricane and tornadoes. Lastly, the historical risk of tornadoes across the US; and answer the question on if the risk has increased, decreased, or remained consistent.

Map 1 shows the hurricane land fall paths and the 25 mile buffer of impacted counties. The impact zone buffers are broken into two colors. The counties boarded in black are all the counties that were impacted. The counties boarded in purple are where they experienced 50 wind wmo (wind by meter / second) or faster. I chose 50 wmo because wind speeds over 50 are when structural damage begins and those areas most likely saw the most damage.

                                      Map 1

Map 2 shows how the black population in the U.S. is largely condensed to the south and are most likely to be impacted by the hurricanes. Although slightly hard to see, the counties bordered in black and purple are inhabited by primarily black Americans.

                                  Map 2

 Map 3 depicts a heat map showing where the concentration of tornadoes.  The Midwest is where most show up however Texas and Florida are where there is a denser number within the 1970-1979 timeframe.

                                 Map 3

Map 4 looks at the same information shown in Map 1, however we move on to the 1980s. In the 1980s the counties that experienced winds 50 wmo or higher stayed relatively the same. However, the paths pushed further into central US and up through Chicago. The 1970s saw hurricanes stay closer to the east side of the US.

                                 Map 4

Map 5 depicts the black population in the hurricane zones in the 1980s. Similar to the 1970s the majority of Americans impacted by these hurricanes were black. However, there was uptick in non black Americans impacted, mainly due to the path of the hurricanes being pushed into the Midwest.

                                 Map 5

Map 6 shows an increase in tornadoes in the Midwest with the denser counties in Texas. Interestingly one hot spot in Texas is by the coast that was also severely hit by hurricane winds of 50+ wmo.  Unfortunately, the counties in the Midwest that were impacted by the hurricanes also were impacted by tornadoes as well.

 

                                 Map 6

Map 7 moves on to the 1990s which shows how the hurricanes moved back towards the east coast of the US. There is an increase in overlaps of hurricanes and almost the entire east coast is impacted by winds of 50 wmo or higher. The buffer counties have also grown with most of the east side of the US being impacted. There is a heavy tole taken on Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

                                 Map 7

Map 8 is similar to maps 2 and 4, the black population is the most impacted by the hurricanes. As the hurricanes move north the race / population changes, however those locations not directly on the coast are not impacted as heavily, as seen with the purple bordered counties.

                                 Map 8

Map 9 is similar to the previous Maps 3 and 6, however there is an alarming increase in higher density of tornadoes occurring in the Midwest, moving north in Texas and above, as well as Florida.

                                  Map 9

Map 10 is alarming as the hurricane paths on land substantially increase, overlapping, and more areas experiencing winds 50 wmo or higher. The coasts that have been heavily impacted in the previous 30 years remain impacted (Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana). However, Texas is hit heavy and to my surprise counties near Chicago and Detroit experience winds 50+ wmo. A larger number of counties are impacted within the buffer, than seen in the previous 30 years.

                                  Map 10

Map 11 shows a slight change in race / population. While black Americans still experience a higher rate of impact due to these hurricanes. More black Americans have moved to new counties and the inland areas experiencing 50+ wmo are primarily non black Americans.

 

                                  Map 11

Map 12  is similar to Map 9, showing a high increase in tornadoes across the Midwest, with higher density near Chicago and the central US. Similar to the increase in hurricanes and the increase in counties impacted, tornadoes have severely increased across a number of counties.

                                 Map 12

After reviewing all the maps, it is unsurprising the race / population information hasn’t severely changed. Black Americans are still more prominently impacted by hurricanes. However, the Midwest has a lower black population so the non black (mostly white) populations are heavily impacted by tornadoes.

Regardless, there is an alarming increase in both hurricanes and tornadoes across the US. More counties are impacted by either tornadoes or hurricanes than ever before, with the increase steadily rising within 40 years. Additionally, there is an increase in winds over 50+ wmo moving further inland which causes more damage and injuries.

I think additional information to look at other weather patterns, global warming, and scientific data on if hurricanes and tornadoes can affect one another. Additionally, it would be interesting to look at structural damage and injury / fatality numbers between the decades. I would have worked towards looking at that information; however, these maps took about 9 hours, and I’ve burned myself out.