Relationship of wind damage to wind direction changes in hurricanes
Abstract
This paper examines the effect of wind direction changes on the amount of damage in a hurricane. The discussion is limited to tropical cyclones with an inner core or “eye” and an outer “irrotational” circulation. As a storm passes to one side of a structure, the wind changes direction to a degree depending on the wind speed of interest. The lower the speed the greater the change in direction. It is the opposing effects of these two parameters that govern the amount of damage experienced by the structure. The analysis presented here shows that in general, the effect of a change in wind direction increases the damage surprisingly little.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
Disaster Management and Resilience
Wind and Air Flow Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- CRC Press eBooks
- Pages
- 1463–1469
- Publication date
- 12 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter