Katie Sullivan's Hurricane Cartoons 

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a meteorologist and study hurricanes.  I've since changed my career goals, but I'm still fascinated by the weather in general and hurricanes in particular. My cartoons were once featured at the official FEMA website and at Go PBI.

 

 

A hurricane meal

Hurricanes need warm water (above 80 degrees F) to grow and thrive.

What keeps little hurricanes awake at night

Wind shear, winds moving in different directions at different levels of the atmosphere, tears hurricanes apart and quickly kills or weakens them.

A hurricane in therapy
One of the other reasons why hurricanes hate wind shear

The little hurricane gets sick

Just as a high temperature indicates a sick human, unhealthy hurricanes have high air pressure

The Long Island Express Hurricane

The great New England hurricane of 1938 raced northward to strike the northeast U.S. at an incredible speed, surprising forecasters.

The latest hurricane dance craze

The Fujiwhara Effect occurs when two hurricanes get so close together they begin revolving around each other.

When the Fujiwhara Effect gets out of hand

The freak tropical storm which formed in the Southern Atlantic in 1991

C.D.O.=Central Dense Overcast, the thickest area of thunderstorms, around the center.

A hurricane identity crisis Tropical cyclones are often renamed when they switch ocean basins
A hurricane nursery

Warm water below, high pressure above.

Tropical Depressions are sometimes called "baby hurricanes" 

So... Baby #1  and  Baby #2

Hurricane nightmares

"Florida was here a second ago..."

Why Project Stormfury failed

Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken hurricanes using cloud seeding.

Why the other hurricanes hate to have Felix over for a visit

In 1995, Hurricane Felix sat offshore of the Carolinas, stalled for days.

The highly erratic Hurricane Gordon

In 1994, Hurricane Gordon wandered drunkenly all over the Caribbean and Atlantic, looping in circles and backtracking aimlessly.

"Ow!  I have something in my eye!"

Special Air Force planes called "Hurricane Hunters" routinely fly into hurricanes to make observations.

Not enough elbow room

In rare cases, hurricane-like storms form in the Mediterranean Sea

The 1935 Florida Keys Hurricane

On Labor Day, 1935, the Keys were blasted by the strongest hurricane ever to hit the United States, with winds of over 200 mph!

"Hey two eyes!"

In reality, the very strongest types of hurricanes do sometimes develop two concentric eyewalls.

Who should pay for hurricane damage

1992's Hurricane Andrew was the costliest disaster is United States history.

Hurricane reaction to the movie about them

In the olden days of cinema, a black-and-white movie was made about hurricanes.

"Erin, you've just become a hurricane!
What are you going to do next?"

A new take on a SuperBowl cliché.

How hurricanes feel about evacuation

With the advent of satellite and radar, it is now possible to get out of the way of most hurricanes...when the warnings come early enough and are heeded.

Hurricane Emily hugs the coast

Emily annoyed residents of North and South Carolina in 1993, but paled next to big brother Andrew of the year before.

Hurricane's feelings about grafitti on boarded windows

While boarding up windows before a hurricane, many coastal residents keep their sense of humor and spraypaint messages to the hurricane on their plywood shutters.   :-)

Hurricane homework I like bad puns.   So sue me.
Hurricane home movies Hey, it's better than Aunt Velma's slides from the Upper Ferdville Cheese Festival.
Watch for flying shingles! Despite the danger of flying debris, most hurricane fatalities are caused by drowning in either the storm surge or the flooding rains.
 

These cartoons are meant to be both amusing and educational, and are in no way meant to make light of the danger, death and destruction wrought by real hurricanes.

All cartoons on this page are © Katie Sullivan and may not be used or redistributed without permission.

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