Beaufort Wind Scale

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(*Chip Merlin’s Note–Rocco Calaci has been a noted meteorology expert witness in the Katrina Legal Wars. After meeting him at a recent FAPIA Convention, I invited him to write a series of guest blogs. Click here to read his previous guest blogs)

Why
Rocco Calaci

Why do people forget that the atmosphere reacts to weather changes at all levels besides the standard heights of 1000, 925, 850, 700, 500, 300, 250 and 200 millibars? If someone doesn’t evaluate the entire column of air at all levels, how can an accurate analysis be performed? How can you trust algorithmic results from incomplete data?…

Continue Reading Rocco Calaci Questions Current Models Used to Determine Wind Damage

(*Chip Merlin’s Note–Rocco Calaci has been a noted meteorology expert witness in the Katrina Legal Wars. After meeting him at a recent FAPIA Convention, I invited him to write a series of guest blogs. Click here to read his previous guest blogs)

We Are Using the Wrong Ruler
Rocco Calaci

Whenever a hurricane strikes a community, we obsess over the maximum wind speed and storm surge depth. In my last blog, I mentioned many other weather elements within a hurricane that can cause damages. Now I want to speak my mind on how we need to look at hurricane damage from another perspective.…

Continue Reading A Call To Reassess How We Gauge Damage From Hurricane Winds

(*Chip Merlin’s Note–Rocco Calaci has been a noted meteorology expert witness in the Katrina Legal Wars. I met him at a recent FAPIA Convention where he presented a speech about hurricanes. I invited Rocco to write on today’s topic after he briefly mentioned it in his speech.)

Since the release of the Saffir-Simpson Scale in the late 1960’s, it has been considered the “standard” in how hurricanes have been categorized. It is my personal opinion that the Saffir-Simpson Scale is no longer relevant due to new technologies and the fact that the estimated levels of destruction rarely match the actual destruction observed from hurricanes over the past decade.

The use of the Saffir-Simpson Scale, along with other meteorological “beliefs”, must be put aside and replaced by factual and verifiable research.…

Continue Reading Is The Saffir-Simpson Scale Still Relevant