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Abstract
This report describes the surface wind speeds during the passage of Hurricane Marilyn through the US Virgin Islands on 9/15-16/1995. Sources of wind speed measurements during this period are described, along with procedures to adjust these measured speeds to standard conditios, defined for the purpose of this report as the sustained speed (1-minute average) at 10m above open water. These adjuested speeds provide a basis for the validation of surface wind speeds derived by the surface wind analysis systems of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. It is concluded that the maximum over-water sustained sppeds in Hurricane Marilyn were approximately 40 m/s at St. Croix, 46 m/s at St. Thomas, 43 m/s at Culebra, and 26 m/s along the east coast of Puerto Rico. It is probable that locally higher speeds occurred in some over-land locations wehre topographic features such as hills, ridges or escarpments caused speed-up effects near the ground. In terms of extreme wind climate for this region of the Caribbean, the maximum over-water sustained speeds at St. Thomas correspond to a mean recurrene interval of about 30 years, or an annual probabilitiy of 0.033 of being equalled or exceeded. In view of the fact that traditional practice is to design ordinary buidings and other structures to perform adequately with a comfortable margin of safety when subjected to a 50-year event (about 50 m/s in this case), the resulting wind damage in teh affected area must be attributed to poor building practices and inadequate code enforcement rather than to excessively high winds.
This report describes the surface wind speeds during the passage of Hurricane Marilyn through the US Virgin Islands on 9/15-16/1995. Sources of wind speed measurements during this period are described, along with procedures to adjust these measured speeds to standard conditios, defined for the purpose of this report as the sustained speed (1-minute average) at 10m above open water. These adjuested speeds provide a basis for the validation of surface wind speeds derived by the surface wind analysis systems of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. It is concluded that the maximum over-water sustained sppeds in Hurricane Marilyn were approximately 40 m/s at St. Croix, 46 m/s at St. Thomas, 43 m/s at Culebra, and 26 m/s along the east coast of Puerto Rico. It is probable that locally higher speeds occurred in some over-land locations wehre topographic features such as hills, ridges or escarpments caused speed-up effects near the ground. In terms of extreme wind climate for this region of the Caribbean, the maximum over-water sustained speeds at St. Thomas correspond to a mean recurrene interval of about 30 years, or an annual probabilitiy of 0.033 of being equalled or exceeded. In view of the fact that traditional practice is to design ordinary buidings and other structures to perform adequately with a comfortable margin of safety when subjected to a 50-year event (about 50 m/s in this case), the resulting wind damage in teh affected area must be attributed to poor building practices and inadequate code enforcement rather than to excessively high winds.
Date
3/1997
3/1997
Author(s)
R Marshall; J Schroeder
R Marshall; J Schroeder
Page(s)
43
43
Keyword(s)
building technology; codes and standards; hurricane; natural disaster; structural engineering; wind engineering; wind load
building technology; codes and standards; hurricane; natural disaster; structural engineering; wind engineering; wind load