Introduction
From a meteorologist’s viewpoint, one can say that continental Europe is a calm and strange place. It is mainly because “major hurricanes are not common in European countries” (Lau et al. 8). Various tropical cyclones and subtropical ones are a rarity here, especially in the modern era (Lau et al. 8). It distinguishes this Earth’s region from the Americas, India, and Asia, where the frequency, danger, and destructiveness of natural disasters of atmospheric nature are much higher. Hurricane Vince is a perfect example of the meteorological peculiarities of Europe mentioned above.
About Hurricane Vince
Hurricane Vince is a tropical cyclone that formed and developed in the eastern region of the Atlantic Ocean in 2005, near the Iberian Peninsula. It lasted four days, from October 8 to 11, during which it was able to reach the coast of Spain (Mann). Meteorological experts claim that its destructive force peaked at “120 km/h winds,” which is very weak for an average tropical cyclone (Mann). Both fortunately and expectedly, “no fatalities and minimal property damage were reported after Hurricane Vince” (Lau et al. 8). It is how the scientific community remembered the insignificant yet peculiar and distinctive Hurricane Vince.
Conclusion
Hurricane Vince is not a major atmospheric event of the 00s for global meteorology and disaster science, but it is so for European scientists. It is because of the rarity of tropical cyclones in this area and the place of origin and direction of movement of this hurricane. This disaster both broke the almost century-long record of these cataclysms in continental Europe and was the first of its category to occur on land (Mann). The bigger one only happened 15 years later, in 2020, the conclusive year of the last decade.
Works Cited
Lau, Yui-Yip, et al. “A Review of Historical Changes of Tropical and Extra-Tropical Cyclones: A Comparative Analysis of the United States, Europe, and Asia.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 8, 2022, pp. 1-19.
Mann, Randi. “Hurricane Vince Was So Rare, It Even Confused Officials.” Yahoo! News, 2021. Web.