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Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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You're asking about "damage"
I'm GUESSING houston doestn't have the building standards that Orlando has so that makes me think they would get more damage if a hurricane did hit, OTOH, I would say Orlando is at a higher risk of getting hit by one in the first place because they're coming from two directions. Then again the storms in the gulf seem to become more powerful because of the warm water and by the time they get up to orandlo, they're 2s or 3s.
Good question! What a brain teaser.
Houston has pretty essy weather in other areas. Ice, tornados, etc.
Orlando isn't at risk of "strikes" because it sits inland (center of the state) much like Houston though it's worth noting Orlando has much more risks due to crossover storms. The Florida peninsula is narrow and as recent as 2004, three hurricanes crossed over the state....one direct hit on the SE coast, and two that looped around from the Atlantic and made landfall on the Gulf of Mexico side crossing the state back over to the Atlantic. Houston seems better situated in that if a storm were to hit it would diminish quickly without the quick access to open water like in Florida.
Houston was severly damaged by at least two hurricanes in recent memory. Hurricane "Ike" and "Alicia" (See wikipedia), Orlando to my knowledge in the last few decades received glancing blows from hurricanes. versus direct hits.
I would think the refining capacity is of greater overall risk Most places in Houston or Orlando are far enough inland to thwart awful dmamge but the refineries would seem more valuable and a higher risk; so on threat to me Houston from this perspective
Houston was severly damaged by at least two hurricanes in recent memory. Hurricane "Ike" and "Alicia" (See wikipedia), Orlando to my knowledge in the last few decades received glancing blows from hurricanes. versus direct hits.
Allison was not a hurricane, it was a tropical storm, and the only reason it did ANY damage at all was because bands of air from the north kept it from moving, so it just sat over the city dumping rain. We didn't get any wind or tide damage, the rain just poured and poured.
I would not even call IKe's damage severe in Houston. It kicked Galveston's butt, it broke windows, tore off roof tiles, etc in Houston; but I would not say that is severe damage.
Last edited by HtownLove; 05-01-2012 at 12:06 PM..
Alicia WAS a category 2 hurricane in 1983. It went directly over downtown and did quite a bit of damage. You are thinking of Tropical Storm Allison. It dumped up to 21 inches of rain on certain parts of town. I believe it was the early 90's when that came through.
I would not even call IKe's damage severe in Houston. It kicked Galveston's butt, it broke windows, tore off roof tiles, etc in Houston; but I would not say that is severe damage.
You know, when people comment on Ike, I always wanna say "You call that a hurricane?" But I never do, since I wasn't here when it struck.
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