Hurricanes- Good and Bad
 
It is hurricane season. You will be hearing news reports of the damage and destruction these storms bring to parts of the United States, and other parts of the world. While a major hurricane is always destructive, hurricanes also have many beneficial effects.
The primary one is rain production. Many areas in the tropics, and sub-tropics get a significant portion of their annual rainfall from tropical storms and hurricanes. Lake Okechobee, in central Florida had dropped to record low levels a few years ago because rainfall had fallen below average. A couple of hurricanes went a long way to filling it up.
Obviously, major hurricanes will continue to be big news. But don't view every storm as "bad". They are an important part of the summer weather cycle in much of the U.S., just as the winter rains are part of the cycle in the Pacific Northwest.
We'll keep you posted on the latest tropical weather on KEZI news. For more information, here's NOAA's hurricane tracking website. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
 
John Fischer
Meteorologist KEZI-TV