It must always be superlative for Donald Trump. When the US President recently visited the FEMA, the hurricane "Dorian" was of course the subject - Trump had even canceled a visit to Poland because of the threat threatening the US states by the hurricane. He knew, said the President, that there was a warning level of 5, but he had never heard of a hurricane that has actually reached this highest level.
As often happens when it comes to facts, Trump was wrong: Alone during his tenure, there were already four hurricanes of this highest category, sweeping across the US mainland.
Nevertheless: "Dorian" is always impressive and threatening.
It was not until Sunday that the hurricane was upgraded to category 5. Storms only reach this highest level when they reach wind speeds of more than 250 kilometers per hour. The satellite image above, taken by NASA with its earth observation satellite "Aqua", shows "Dorian" over the Bahamas. The picture was taken on Sunday at 14.05 (local time). At that time, the Eye of the Storm was just over the island of Great Abaco. According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), "Dorian" is the strongest storm in the northwest of the Bahamas since records began.
"Dorian" had reached the northern foothills of the island nation on Sunday with wind speeds of nearly 300 kilometers. There is no precise information about the extent of the damage, it should be considerable.
Trump: "I'm not sure that I've ever heard of a Category 5."
This is the fourth Category 5 hurricane to strike the United States during his presidency. Irma, Maria, Michael, Dorian. pic.twitter.com/xWLYuQRTBU
Now the hurricane could soon reach the coast of the US - according to the latest forecasts at the earliest on Monday evening or on Tuesday. According to recent estimates, he could just miss Florida, but still forceful storms to the shores. The states of Georgia or South Carolina could be harder to hit. If the storm reaches the country here, damages such as covered houses, broken trees and electricity pylons and a collapse of electricity and communication networks are in danger. Even high storm surges are expected.
For the current hurricane season, which lasts until the end of November, the National Weather Service has predicted five to nine hurricanes with a probability of 70 percent, up to four could reach a high intensity.
For hurricanes to develop, it takes several factors: a windstilles low pressure area above the sea and warm water temperatures over 26 degrees. Then evaporated water rises, condenses and forms into large clouds.
Put simply, the storm takes up huge amounts of energy through the water: rising and condensing creates a vacuum that pushes it forward. As a result, more and more air flows upwards and is finally whirled around. A pronounced hurricane can release an energy output of 50 to 200 trillion watts. The majority of it occurs as heat.
If the rotation of the air reaches a wind speed of about 120 kilometers per hour, this is called a category one hurricane. But the speed with which the entire hurricane system moves also plays a role. According to data from the NHC, "Dorian" is barely moving from the scene at the moment - he does not go west at just two kilometers per hour.
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One reason for the all-clear is not - on the contrary. Because hurricanes bring devastating rain and floods, they often cause more destruction than the winds alone. When hurricanes hit land at low speed, they also rain more rainfall because they spend longer.
Researchers have long observed that hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, as those storms are called depending on the region, are slowing down. But the degree of destruction that they cause rises. The category in which they are classified does not necessarily say anything about the amount of damage they leave on land. Partly storms with the categories 1 to 3 in the past years were very destructive. Due to the climate crisis, hurricanes will not necessarily increase, but they could reach higher intensities, climate scientists believe.
After all: Recently, the National Hurricane Center had announced that the hurricane is likely to weaken. But he will remain a dangerous storm in the next few days. There is no reason for the all-clear.