Why were there more hurricanes last year than usual?
409301
because everyone is littering more and creating more pollution in the air which affects our ozone layer which affects our weather
142329
Yes I think it will be worse. Mostly because we haven't really had a cold winter so the ocean hasn't cooled as much as it normally would and with the ocean being a bit warmer it's a breeding ground for stronger hurricanes and bad weather.
21389
There is a universal list in place that contains 21 names that are reused every six to seven years. Hurricanes that cause a lot of devastation are usually retired and replaced with another name from the corresponding location in the alphabet.\n\nThe link below provides a complete list of hurricane names for the entire world, and you can read more about how the hurricanes got their names. It's a pretty interesting read.
818298
Global warming causes the world's mean ocean temperature to rise.  This makes hurricanes more likely to form because they need ocean temperatures above 80 degrees fahrenheit to form.  Since hurricanes often create tornados, they are also more likely to form.  Global warming's level of severity depends on exactly where you're talking about.  You'd have to specify to get a more definite answer.
660851
From the data you gave there are 2 answers\n1. There were 655 natural disasters (yes this sounds to easy, but think about it the question is how many disasters were there in a 20 year period, by the way 209 of them were floods)\nOr\n2. 446 non-flood natural disasters\nOtherwise the question is unsolvable with the information you gave.
112967
Hurricanes have hit New York City. They have usually lost a lot of their power due to land and cooler water temperatures by the time they get up there though. However, if a full force hurricane ever did directly hit New York, I'm sure it would be quite a disaster - although probably more a monetary than a human disaster (like New Orleans).
1142344
Hurricanes are named in alphabetical order, therefore Katrina was first last year.  Although Wilma did have the most power at 882 MB.
425775
Hurricane Names: from the FEMA kids website\n\nAll hurricanes are given names. Why is that? To help us identify storms and track them as they move across the ocean. Remember, there can be more than one hurricane at a time and without naming them, we could get confused and which storm we're talking about.\n\nFor hundreds of years, hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the particular saint's day on which the hurricane occurred. An Australian meteorologist began giving women's names to tropical storms before the end of the 19th century. In 1953, the U.S. National Weather Service, which is the federal agency that tracks hurricanes and issues warnings and watches, began using female names for storms. \n\nIn 1979, both women and men's names were used. One name for each letter of the alphabet is selected, except for Q, U and Z. For Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, the names may be French, Spanish or English, since these are the major languages bordering the Atlantic Ocean where the storm occur. \n\nSo who decides what names are used each year? The World Meteorological Organization uses six lists in rotation. The same lists are reused every six years. The only time a new name is added is if a hurricane is very deadly or costly. Then the name is retired and a new name is chosen.
547745
Because New Orleans was being run by a dumb *ss who sat back and waited for the Feds to come handle everything for him. And his contingency followed his idiotic example. \n\nHere in FL, we didn't have those problems, despite being hit by four hurricanes in a row. We got off our butts and prepared. Lesson learned? \n\nNo, they still think it's W's fault.
301256
No exaggeration. But the type of storm is often different.\nBritain to my knowledge has only had the one hurricane in recent times and that was around 1987. I remember it well. Our position is too far up north for something like Katrina.\n\nSeems you are trying to stir up some storms yourself with a question like this
373595
no. if people think hurricanes are because of global warming, what about the unnamed hurricane that racked new england in 1923?\nor Camille in 1969?\nthe word itself came from an old incan word for the god of war. so apparently they've been around for hundreds of years. they are not avoidable, unless you avoid the state they hit.
37827
No, they are far more powerful than we are currently.\n\nI have started a Weather Blog in Yahoo 360 which has a 'live link' that is marvelous showing the entire hurricane area of the USA and Carribean.\n\nYou will find it especially valuable when hurricane season starts, but it is impressive right now.\n\nGo to the blog and then look at Blog Roll URLs on the left near the bottom.\n\nMuch other useful weather information there and to come.\n\nhttp://360.yahoo.com/ki_te_moana
489549
Because the US doesn't have monsoons.  Apparently various severe tropical storms get special names depending on the ocean of origin.  Hurricanes originate from the Atlantic.  America (US, Carribean, and Mexico especially) get hurricanes in particular because God is angry with them... Just kidding!  Particular areas get hit because of the flow of the Gulf Stream moving from Africa to the Carribean is apparently capable of building up a great deal of force!  Think warm, moist wind building up steam with no trees or other geographical feature getting in the way, all the while collecting moisture... Then slamming that into the islands and mainland...  Nasty stuff that...
197579
Well, I can tell you that hurricanes, if they stay around long enough, will errode the beachline tremendously.  Last year, one of Florida's hurricanes (or a combination of all three of them) erroded the line so badly that some of the original beachline motel foundations were showing.  AND...a bus that was burried since the 60's (by reckoning) actually showed up half-buried.  Now THATS alot of errosion.
708647
The main reason why the Atlantic coast is more stormy than the Pacific coast (as in Hurricanes, Nor'Easters, etc.) is the fact that a warm water current called the gulf stream happens to flow from south to north up the Atlantic Coast.  This provide much more energy for storms to use as they approach land.  Also, the prevailing winds in the tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere happen to be from east to west, thus pushing tropical moisture toward much of the Gulf coast region and pushing stroms, like Hurricanes, from the Mid-Atlantic toward the East Coast.
47233
The odd winter weather actually correlates to the unusually busy hurricane season we had this year. Traditionally, years that have produced great numbers of hurricanes tend to have winters with great swings in weather, often offering greater numbers of above average temperature days. Don't worry though, winter's not over yet and the cold weather will likely be here with a vengence before its over.
662087
water temperature is a biggie..and more recently..since they've been collecting data on hurricanes for around 30 years now...they're using trend maps to try to see any kind of pattern in Hurricane occurances each year\n\nthere are "ups" and "downs" when it comes to the numbers of hurricanes each year..and this up/down period lasts for several years...we are currently in one of hte "up" periods..and using that past history..correlated with water temperatures off the coast of africa and the location/temperature of the jet stream..its fairly safe to assume a good number..due to large amounts of moisture down there..and the always predictable convective activity (what starts hurricanes..a lifting force that gets the clouds to build)