Customer Reviews

Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth

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Ever since I was a child trapped inside by the pouring rain as the remnants of Camille passed over East Tennessee, I have been fascinated by hurricanes. With that in mind, this book was hard to resist. Especially since I had spent many hours watching Dr. Sheets on television. It is pretty obvious though that Jack Williams did most of the writing and for those of us who are not that familiar with the science of meteorology that is a very good thing for this is a very complicated subject and dumbing down is exactly what I needed.

This book is not so much a book about major hurricanes as it is a history of the predicting of hurricanes. From Columbus to the present satellites and Doppler systems this book tells the story of man's attempts to guess what Mother Nature is up to. There is even a chapter about attempts to actually control hurricanes.

Even with the simple way the authors attempted to tell their story I was lost at times but not all too often. For a trained meteorologist this book would probably seem almost childish, but for the average person like myself it is just about right. I still don't completely understand everything about wind sheer, computer models, and latent heat but I am at least familiar with the terms now. From now on, as a hurricane approaches the U.S. coast and I sit there in front of the TV I will have a vague idea of how the computer models work and will know all about the Bermuda high.

The chapter I found the most interesting was the chapter about hurricane Andrew. That is the kind of thing I was actually looking for in this book but even though I only found one chapter of what I had been looking for, I still found this book to be highly informative, interesting, and well written. I imagine that Dr. Sheets could write an entire book on Andrew, and I wish he would

I was in the middle of reading this book when Hurricane Katrina started heading toward us here in Louisiana. While everyone else was talking about the hurricane and its projected path, I was able to understand exactly what the forecasters were talking about. This book explains the dynamics of a hurricane very well - how, where and why they form, and an explanation of the weather phenomena that forecasters (and forecasting models) use to project its path.

One thing this book has made me realize is that weather is an imperfect science. It seems many people think forecasters are pointless because they're often wrong, but what they don't realize is that there is a LOT we don't know about weather. And we're a lot better off knowing what we know today! It is also strange to continue reading this after Katrina, because there is mention of intense, deadly hurricanes throughout history - and Katrina has really set a new precedent (Rewrite? Heck, I'd buy a 2nd edition!). This is a book that calls for a re-reading anyway. It is so jam-packed with interesting information. There are many explanations of weather phenomena that I had to read several times over because I'm not a scientifically-minded person. This book explains things very well - but I find that with weather-talk, it helps to have diagrams. Unfortunately, this book has very few (in fact, looking through, I can only find one diagram).

This book has excellent appendices! --> A list of hurricane names (2001-06), retired hurricane names. The hurricane probabilities chart is particularly fascinating - it lists names of Atlantic/Gulf coast cities and the probabilities of a hurricane/major hurricane hitting within a given year (Miami/Ft Lauderdale appear to be the two most vulnerable areas). Strongest hurricanes, most deadly hurricanes, most expensive hurricanes (including what past hurricanes would cost today). A glossary of forecasting models. A separate glossary of hurricane terminology. All excellent additions to this book!!

If you are reading this review, it means you're interested in hurricane books. And if that's the case, you NEED to read this one! - especially if you don't know much about the dynamics of hurricanes. (and if you live on either the Atlantic or Gulf coast)

Hurricane Watch should be read and re-read, from those who trade on Wall Street, to the trading pits in Chicago, from history buffs to the millions of "closet" weather fanatics, not to mention the nearly 100 million American's that are at risk by the most destructive storm on Earth!

Hurricane Watch gracefully details the past, present and future casualties and catastrophic economic losses that hurricanes have created and will unleash in the not-so-distant future... Sheets and Williams do a tremendous job of "filling in the holes" of why meteorologists pursue the perfect hurricane forecast.

JG

Dr. Bob Sheets is a previous director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Jack Williams helped found the USA TODAY Weather Page. Together these two well respected men combine their unique talents, introspection , scientific facts with intriguing anecdotal tales. The result may well be one of the ultimate books about hurricanes from their formation to the evolution of man's ability to understand and predict their path and power. They blend the lines of scientific fact and human experience yielding an accessible guide to a more in-depth understanding of hurricanes. The book covers the early days of meteorology, when it was perceived as almost a mythical ability to the more current up to the moment technological advances at the forefront of climatology and prediction. Also included are tables listing the deadliest hurricanes, strongest hurricanes and costliest storms. The Saffir-Simpson scale is explained and laid out along with a table detailing the strike possibilities by region. There is a section that deals with the computer models utilized by the National Hurricane Center, both the statistical and dynamic forecast models, from CLIPER to SHIPS, from GFDL to NOGAPS. Each model is detailed and it's purpose and focus are explained.
Finally there is the most important section, on how to prepare for a hurricane, from things to do before you buy or build your home, preparing ahead of time for hurricane season and what to do from the time a watch is issued, the hurricane arrives and after the hurricane has passed. This book is a wealth of information for those whose lives may depend upon an understanding of hurricane predictions and the ability to prepare themselves and their families for the possible onslaught of the hurricane season.

I'm not even quite finished this book and I'm total impressed and ingrossed with it, and sorry to see that I'm near the end. It not only describes things in simple terms but it also traces the history of hurricanes with various accounts that are entertaining and/or sobering. In this way it caters for all types, those who want the facts and those who don't mind it being done in a story-like fashion. This makes it refreshing when compared to 'stuffy' text books on the subject.

Great work, well thought out and excellent integration of the material. I wish there could be a sequel :-)

This book is like a Colombo murder mystery. You know "who did it," it's just will he or she be caught in time. The answer to the question, in this case, is "no."

Dr Sheet's book is a very thorough commentary on the history and study of hurricanes. He provides the reader with an interesting background narrative of hurricanes and their destructiveness that dates from the early experiences of Spanish explorers and early European settlers in the Caribbean, the east and southeast coasts of the US and Canada. He also discusses the typhoon or cyclone in the Pacific and the odd phenomenon that dictates that when there are more of these, there are fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic. He also covers the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño, though to a lesser degree than Brian Fagan did in one of his weather/climate discussions. Of far greater historical interest-to me anyway-is his discussion of the various personalities involved in researching hurricanes. It's surprising how much solid study was conducted as early as the 19th century.

The author also describes the big name hurricanes. Probably the best is his own experience of Hurricane Andrew in Florida. The story is riveting, especially when, having lived through a very precarious situation himself, he expresses concern over the very real possibility that the storm might move on into the Gulf of Mexico and hit New Orleans. The book was written in the late 1990s, but he is able to thoroughly describe the potential destruction should a hurricane hit the city in full force. As we know, Andrew did not move into the New Orleans area, but Katrina did. The outcome was much as the author had predicted. With so much foresight, it makes one wonder why authorities could have been so lax in taking precautions. It was, in fact, much as many had already said, a case of "not if, but when."

The answer seems to reside in that peculiar sense of probability that dictates that "if it didn't happen in my grandfather's time, and it didn't happen in my father's time, it won't happen mine." Human experience of climate is actually the experience of weather, a relatively short-term phenomenon. While the human life span seems quite long compared to other types of animal, it's infinitesimally short compared to the age of the earth, which is the time frame of climate. It's this grander scale of climatic change that makes the discussions over global warming so contentious, and the appropriate actions to be taken the subject of feud. Everyone has his or her own opinion, and the fact is that we really don't know. The author makes this point when he discusses the possibility that there will be more frequent and more destructive storms with the advent of global warming. Here too, they don't know, but the author is inclined to doubt it. That there will be storms as destructive as Andrew he accepts; that they will be more costly he agrees. But he feels that the latter will be due more to the increasing population of the areas subject to these storms and the unpreparedness of new comers in the face of a phenomenon with which they have no experience.

What is amazing to me is that the areas subject to a force of nature as fierce as a hurricane continue to grow in population and that building continues to be substandard, at least under the circumstances, but then the San Andreas fault system is heavily settled with buildings far too fragile to survive another 1906-style earthquake and the fertile flanks of Vesuvius lure farmers to them irrespective of its reputation for death and destruction. The human capacity to ignore what "might" happen looms ever optimistic.

If you are an emergency manager along the Gulf Coast or Atantic States, then this is a must read. While the word is focusing on terrorism, a more likey event is the return of more active hurricane seasons. From the early days to work by Dr. Bill Gray and others, Hurricane Watch reminds us that while forecasting has improve, Hurricanes still have many secrets we have yet to understand.

First, this is a good book. It covers the history of hurricanes as completely as I would want. There are some amazing details and I learned a great deal.

However, this is not what I expected by the title of the book. I was anticipating a first hand account of Dr. Sheets' experiences doing his job at the NHC. Instead what I got was Jack Williams doing a history of hurricane forecasting. It's not bad, it's just not the same.

The book also gets into some "first hand" experience of hurricanes, including Hugo, that makes for some interesting reading. But this doesn't happen until near the end of the book.

I was also disconcerted by the fact that Dr. Bob Sheets is supposed to be the author but there isn't a single reference to "I", "me", or "my family" in the book. If he wrote it, why is he and his family always in the third person? I.E. "Dr. Sheets this.." and "When Dr. Sheets went..." etc.

Read it. Like it. But don't expect a book written by Dr. Sheets. They just borrowed his name to sell an otherwise pretty good book.

The thrilling hurricanes put me on needles and pins. I felt like I was there when it went through. I would recommend this book to all readers of storms. Thank you.

Karen Kay Ullom

"Hurricane Watch Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth" was an excellent book. It had many great facts on hurricanes in it. It gave me more understanding on hurricanes and how they start. This book is very helpful if you are studying meteorology. This book is written by Dr. Bob Sheets former director of the National Hurricane Center. He was in charge of predicting the tracks of hurricanes and sending out warnings to the people of the communities where the hurricane will hit. The book goes through the history on predicting hurricanes. It starts with Christopher Columbus and ends with hurricane Andrew. Since it is a sort of old book some of the "New technology" in the book is out dated. Also it does not have anything about the strong hurricanes of today. I recommend this book for anybody who likes to learn about the history of hurricanes. The book had facts on the history of hurricanes. The book was interesting in many places but had some boring spots. Also the book talked about people flying planes into hurricanes for reconnaissance. It had the history of the reconnaissance planes starting from World War 2 to now. The book was a fairly long book. The end of the book had appendices that had facts from hurricanes in the past. It also has a list of all of the hurricanes from 2001 to 2006. In some parts of the book I could not put it down but in other parts it was boring. The book had many great pictures. Some pictures were about what happened after they hit and others were about radar and what the hurricanes looked like from above. If you like meteorology and hurricanes this book is for you. Also if you need to do some research on hurricanes I would recommend this book to you.