SolveYourProblem Article Series: Hurricanes
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Hurricane Acronyms: NOAA, TUTT, CDO and more...

The world of hurricane observation is filled with serious sounding acronyms. While it is hard enough to understand exactly the natural forces that come into play when it comes to the formation of a hurricane, it is made even harder to understand because of the various collections of letters that are strewn amongst the facts and observations. To shed some light on this collection of hurricane acronyms, here are some definitions describing TUTT, CDO and other letters of the alphabet.

AOML stands for the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. It conducts hurricane research.

CDO is the term that refers to a “central dense overcast” which is storm-speak for a cloud shield, which is directly related to the swirling thunderstorms. Quite often the term CDO is used to describe the actual strength components of the developing storm.

HRD refers to the Hurricane Research Division, which is actually a division of the AOML that specifically conducts any of the hurricane research. In a way, this name is quite often associated with the latest findings and also hurricane updates that you may have become accustomed to when seeing the photos on the television or even the Internet.

NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which in turn is the umbrella organization for the OAR. Whenever there is an issuance of a hurricane warning, it is usually sent out or underwritten by NOAA.

OAR refers to the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Facilities of which the AOML is a part.

SAL is the term that refers to the Saharan Air Layer. If you are a weather channel junkie, you will have quite possibly heard this term bandied around a few times when speaking of hurricanes. As the name implies, this term refers to the air. which is associated with the dry and dusty confines of the Sahara Desert. In recent years it has been discovered that this air actually impacts the formation as well as the intensity of the tropical storms, which later on have the potential to turn into hurricanes.

TUTT stands for Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough. While this term in itself is quite a mouth full, the definition of the term makes it soon clear just how it ties into the hurricane. A TUTT is nothing more than an atmospheric low which at times may contribute some so much wind to be experienced by a tropical storm, that the storm is significantly weakened.

While it is true that for a beginner these acronyms may be somewhat intimidating, those who are familiar with them find them so much easier to inject into the conversation, simply because they so succinctly state the idea they are expressing, without the need for further explanations. In addition to the foregoing, during the crisis of a hurricane making landfall, the very precision that these terms permit onlookers and those involved in the weather forecasting business to employ, will assure that you receive accurate and up to date information that is neither ambiguous nor erroneous because of miscommunications between the different agencies.

Of course, no matter how many acronyms are used to define and describe the events that precede the formation of a hurricane, its eventual landfall, and then the realities of its aftermath, living through the storm is an entirely different experience altogether. So go ahead and make sure you are up to date on not only the hurricane lingo you can expect to hear on the radio or television, but also on your survival procedures and safety precautions that will permit you to put the storm behind you quickly.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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