Hurricanes
Located in the hurricane alley, Texas has seen its fair share of these devastating storms.
Texas suffers from immense hurricane damage each year. Each hurricane might cost billions of dollars in damage.
What is a hurricane?
Hurricanes are types of tropical cyclones. This means that they are circulating weather systems that are derived from tropical bodies of water, such as the southern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Changes in the atmosphere also contribute to the creation, strength, and wind-speeds of a hurricane.
Hurricanes are typically accompanied by thunderstorms and can cause heavy rains, strong winds, flying debris, landslides, mudslides, rip tides, tornadoes, and floods, which may also contribute to the amount of damage done to a region. Ranging in categories from 1-5 based on wind speed, hurricanes are the most common and deadliest natural disaster in the United States.
Hurricanes have three main parts:
Eye- "Hole" in center of storm; Weak winds and clear/slightly cloudy skies.
Eye Wall- Contains the strongest winds and heaviest rains.
Rain Bands- May stretch for hundreds of miles; sometimes contain thunderstorms and/or tornadoes.
Hurricanes are typically accompanied by thunderstorms and can cause heavy rains, strong winds, flying debris, landslides, mudslides, rip tides, tornadoes, and floods, which may also contribute to the amount of damage done to a region. Ranging in categories from 1-5 based on wind speed, hurricanes are the most common and deadliest natural disaster in the United States.
Hurricanes have three main parts:
Eye- "Hole" in center of storm; Weak winds and clear/slightly cloudy skies.
Eye Wall- Contains the strongest winds and heaviest rains.
Rain Bands- May stretch for hundreds of miles; sometimes contain thunderstorms and/or tornadoes.
How do hurricanes affect ecoregions in Texas?
Texas suffers from immense hurricane damage each year. Each hurricane might cost billions of dollars in damage, along with harm to nature.
Forests
A tree is no match for a hurricane. Hurricanes winds can sometimes reach up to hundreds of miles per hour and carry plenty of flying debris. When hurricanes hit forests, these extremely strong winds can uproot trees and break branches. This will cause the amount of vegetation in a region to decrease considerably, which can also impact the food web and carbon cycle in the region. Animals that rely on forest ecosystems for survival might die and reduce the biodiversity of the ecosystem. All surviving animals will also need to find new shelter and habitats. Additionally, hurricanes are often followed by severe thunderstorms, which may strike trees and cause forest fires and further damage to the forest. These post-hurricane forest fires mostly occur in cases when hurricanes pass, but the bad weather that accompany it remains.
Ecoregions in Texas that may suffer from this type of hurricane damage include the Pineywoods and Cross Timbers regions, where forests and thick vegetation are abundant.
Previously in Texas, forest fires have been a very large problem because of all of the forests in Texas. A notable forest fire after a hurricane was in 2011, in which thousands of acres of Texas forests were burned.
Ecoregions in Texas that may suffer from this type of hurricane damage include the Pineywoods and Cross Timbers regions, where forests and thick vegetation are abundant.
Previously in Texas, forest fires have been a very large problem because of all of the forests in Texas. A notable forest fire after a hurricane was in 2011, in which thousands of acres of Texas forests were burned.
Prairies and Marshes
Oftentimes hurricanes will be accompanied by severe flooding. Flooding in marshes, if persistent, such as if the heavy rains following a hurricane continue for many days afterward, can even cause marshlands to break into several smaller pieces due to erosion and heavy flooding. Animals in the marshes may lose their habitats or shelters and die, causing a chain reaction throughout the entire ecosystem by depriving many levels of animals of their food sources. One main issue with marshland separation is that common marsh grasses do not spread by seed; instead they spread by growing roots underground. When marshlands are broken up, these underground connections are severed, meaning that the plants cannot spread to other marshlands and may die.
Prairies in Texas are also in danger of becoming freshwater marshes or "wet prairies" if they are flooded. This will change the animals that are able to survive in the prairie, which means that some prairie animals are in danger of dying off.
Ecoregions in Texas that may suffer from this type of hurricane damage include the Blackland Prairie and Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes regions, where there are many prairies and marshes in danger of being flooded. Houston in located in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion of Texas.
Prairies in Texas are also in danger of becoming freshwater marshes or "wet prairies" if they are flooded. This will change the animals that are able to survive in the prairie, which means that some prairie animals are in danger of dying off.
Ecoregions in Texas that may suffer from this type of hurricane damage include the Blackland Prairie and Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes regions, where there are many prairies and marshes in danger of being flooded. Houston in located in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion of Texas.