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Groundhog Day Storm

Groundhog Day Storm

The Groundhog Day Storm was a February tropical storm, the only one in recorded Atlantic history.

Storm history

On February 2, a tropical depression formed in the western Caribbean Sea north of the coast of Honduras. It tracked to the north-northwest, hitting near Cancun hours later while slowly strengthening. Likely subtropical in nature, this rare storm moved quickly to the northeast, where it brushed by northern Cuba that night. In the morning of February 3 it passed near Key West, and hours later it made landfall on the Florida peninsula near Cape Sable. While still moving rapidly to the northeast, the Groundhog Day Storm passed just west of Miami, Florida in the morning of February 3. There, the National Weather Service stationed in Miami recorded sustained tropical storm force winds for 4 hours, as well as a minimum central pressure of 1004 millibars (29.66 inches of mercury). The storm also produced peak gusts of 68 mph, with sustained winds of 59 mph for 5 minutes. This shows how large the storm's wind field was, an indicator of possibly being a subtropical cyclone. After crossing Florida, the storm accelerated to the northeast. Over the western Atlantic, the storm strengthened, likely baroclinically, to a peak of 50 mph winds as a tropical cyclone. On February 4, the Groundhog Day Storm became extratropical east of South Carolina, and the extratropical storm brought heavy wind to the coastline. It continued racing to the northeast, and after hitting Cape Cod and eastern Maine on the 5th, the storm lost its identity over New Brunswick.

Impact

While crossing southern Florida, the storm brough 2-4 inches of rain. This unseasonable mixture of strong winds and heavy rain caused some minor crop damage across the state. While off the coast of North Carolina, a 26-man crew freighter was driven aground as the storm passed by it. The ocean caused waves up to 35 feet high, but all of the crew were saved. In the northeast United States, the strong winds caused power outages to 15,000 people, with minor tree damage.

Formation

This storm was the only known tropical cyclone to form in the Atlantic in February. As much of an anomaly it is, it fits in historical perspective, as Caribbean Sea water temperatures in winter are in the 70's or even 80's in some areas. The only inhibitor is the excessive upper level shear. If the strong winds were to abate while a disturbance was in the area, this could lead to cyclogenesis. Because of its unknown structure at the time, it was treated as an unnamed storm in post-analysis. Had it been named operationally, it would have been Tropical Storm Able. The only other off-season storm in the western Caribbean Sea between December and April is Tropical Storm Odette, which developed in December in 2003.

External links

- [http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/history/groundhog-day-storm.htm USA Today Storm Info]
- [http://www.americawestvacations.com/destinations/mexico/cancun.html Cancun Water Temperatures]
- [http://web.archive.org/web/20010813095540/www.atlantichurricaneguide.com/February.html New York Time Reports]
- [http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/080/mwr-080-03-0045.pdf Possible Subtropical Storm]
- (1952)
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- (1952)

Tropical storm

:Hurricane and Typhoon redirect here. For other uses, see Hurricane (disambiguation) and Typhoon (disambiguation). Typhoon (disambiguation) on March 26, 2004.]] In meteorology, a tropical cyclone (or tropical depression, tropical storm, typhoon, or hurricane, depending on strength and geographical context) is a type of low pressure system which generally forms in the tropics. While they can be highly destructive, tropical cyclones are an important part of the atmospheric circulation system, which moves heat from the equatorial region toward the higher latitudes.

Terms for tropical cyclones

equatorial region]] Depending on the region, different terms are used to describe tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds exceeding 33 meters per second (63 knots, 73 mph, or 117 km/h):
- hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean east of the dateline
- typhoon in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline
- severe tropical cyclone in the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160°E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90°E
- severe cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean
- tropical cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean east of 160°E.
- cyclone unofficially in the South Atlantic Ocean In other areas, hurricanes have been called Baguio in the Philippines and Taino in Haiti.

Etymology

The word typhoon has two possible origins:
- From the Chinese 大風 (daaih fūng (Cantonese); dà fēng (Mandarin)) which means "great wind". (The Chinese term as 颱風 táifēng, and 台風 taifu in Japanese, has an independent origin traceable variously to 風颱, 風篩 or 風癡 hongthai, going back to Song 宋 (960-1278) and Yuan 元(1260-1341) dynasties. The first record of the character 颱 appeared in 1685's edition of Summary of Taiwan 臺灣記略).
- From Urdu, Persian or Arabic ţūfān (طوفان) < Greek tuphōn (Τυφών). Portuguese tufão is also related to typhoon. See tuphōn for more information. The word hurricane is derived from the name of a native Caribbean Amerindian storm god, Huracan, via Spanish huracán. The word cyclone came from the Greek word "κύκλος", meaning "circle".

Mechanics of a tropical cyclone

Spanish. The air heats up, rising further, which leads to more condensation. The air flowing out of the top of this “chimney” drops towards the ground, forming powerful winds.]] Structurally, a tropical cyclone is a large, rotating system of clouds, wind and thunderstorm activity. Its primary energy source is the release of the heat of condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, the heat ultimately derived from the sun. Therefore, a tropical cyclone can be thought of as a giant vertical heat engine supported by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the orbital revolution and gravity of the Earth. Continued condensation leads to higher winds, continued evaporation, and continued condensation, feeding back into itself. This gives rise to factors that give the system enough energy to be self-sufficient and cause a positive feedback loop where it can draw more energy as long as the source of heat, warm water, remains. Factors such as a continued lack of equilibrium in air mass distribution would also give supporting energy to the cyclone. The orbital revolution of the Earth causes the system to spin, giving it a cyclone characteristic and affecting the trajectory of the storm. The factors to form a tropical cyclone include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist and allow it to create a feedback loop by maximizing the energy intake possible, for example, such as high winds to increase the rate of evaporation, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods associated with this phenomenon. Condensation as a driving force is what primarily distinguishes tropical cyclones from other meteorological phenomena, and because this is strongest in a tropical climate, this defines the initial domain of the tropical cyclone. By contrast, mid-latitude cyclones, for example, draw their energy mostly from pre-existing horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere. In order to continue to drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must remain over warm water, which provides the atmospheric moisture needed. The condensation of this moisture is driven by the high winds and reduced atmospheric pressure in the storm, resulting in a sustaining cycle. As a result, when a tropical cyclone passes over land, its strength diminishes rapidly. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimate that a hurricane releases heat energy at the rate of 50 to 200 trillion watts -- about the amount of energy released by exploding a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes [http://www.ucar.edu/news/features/hurricanes/index.shtml].

Formation

nuclear bomb The formation of tropical cyclones is the topic of extensive ongoing research, and is still not fully understood. Five factors are necessary to make tropical cyclone formation possible: # Sea surface temperatures above 26.5 degrees Celsius (79.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to at least a depth of 50 meters (164 feet). The moisture in the air above the warm water is the energy source for tropical cyclones. # Upper-atmosphere conditions conducive to thunderstorm formation. Temperature in the atmosphere must decrease quickly with height, and the mid-troposphere must be relatively moist. # A pre-existing weather disturbance. This is most frequently provided by tropical waves—non-rotating areas of thunderstorms that move through tropical oceans. # A distance of approximately 10 degrees or more from the equator, so that the Coriolis effect is strong enough to initiate the cyclone's rotation. (2004's Hurricane Ivan was the strongest storm to form closer than 10 degrees from the equator; it started forming at 9.7 degrees north.) # Low vertical wind shear (change in wind speed or direction over height). High wind shear can break apart the vertical structure of a tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones occasionally form despite not meeting these conditions. Only specific weather disturbances can result in tropical cyclones. These include: # Tropical waves, or easterly waves, which, as mentioned above, are westward moving areas of convergent winds. This often assists in the development of thunderstorms, which can develop into tropical cyclones. Most tropical cyclones form from these. A similar phenomenon to tropical waves are West African disturbance lines, which are squally lines of convection that form over Africa and move into the Atlantic. # Tropical upper tropospheric troughs, which are cold-core upper level lows. A warm-core tropical cyclone may result when one of these (on occasion) works down to the lower levels and produces deep convection. # Decaying frontal boundaries may occasionally stall over warm waters and produce lines of active convection. If a low level circulation forms under this convection, it may develop into a tropical cyclone.

When do tropical cyclones form?

Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer when water temperatures are warmest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. In the North Atlantic, a distinct hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. The statistical peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season is September 10. The Northeast Pacific has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November. In the Southern Hemisphere, tropical cyclone activity begins in late October and ends in May. Southern Hemisphere activity peaks in mid-February to early March. Worldwide, an average of 80 tropical cyclones form each year.

Where do tropical cyclones form?

Most tropical cyclones form in a worldwide band of thunderstorm activity called the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Nearly all of them form between 10 and 30 degrees of the equator and 87% form within 20 degrees of it. Because the Coriolis effect initiates and maintains tropical cyclone rotation, such cyclones almost never form or move within about 10 degrees of the equator [http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/pubs/tcguide/ch1/figures_ch1/figure1.9.htm], where the Coriolis effect is weakest. However, it is possible for tropical cyclones to form within this boundary if there is another source of initial rotation. These conditions are extremely rare, and such storms are believed to form at most once per century. Hurricane Ivan of 2004 developed within 10 degrees of the equator. A combination of a pre-existing disturbance, upper level divergence and a monsoon-related cold spell led to Typhoon Vamei at only 1.5 degrees north of the equator in 2001. It is estimated that such conditions occur only once every 400 years.

Major basins

There are seven main basins of tropical cyclone formation:
- North Atlantic Basin: The most-studied of all tropical basins, it includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical cyclone formation here varies widely from year to year, ranging from over twenty to one per year. The average is about ten. The United States Atlantic coast, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda are frequently affected by storms in this basin. Venezuela, the south-east of Canada and Atlantic "Macaronesian" islands are also occasionally affected. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in Miami, Florida, issues forecasts for storms for all nations in the region; the Canadian Hurricane Centre, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, also issues forecasts and warnings for storms expected to affect Canadian territory and waters. Hurricanes that strike Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean island nations, often do intense damage, as hurricanes are deadlier over warmer water. Additionally, they can hit the coast of the U.S., especially Florida, North Carolina, the U.S. Gulf Coast and occasionally New Jersey, New York and New England (usually hurricanes weaken to tropical storms before they reach these northern regions). The coast of Atlantic Canada receives hurricane landfalls on rare occasion, such as Hurricane Juan in 2003. Many of the more intense Atlantic storms are Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which form off the west coast of Africa near the Cape Verde islands.
- Western North Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm activity in this region frequently affects China, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan, but also many other countries in South-East Asia, such as Vietnam, South Korea and Indonesia, plus numerous Oceanian islands. This is by far the most active basin, accounting for one-third of all tropical cyclone activity in the world. The eastern coasts of Taiwan and Philippines also have the highest tropical cyclone landfall frequency in the world. National meteorology organizations and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are responsible for issuing forecasts and warnings in this basin.
- Eastern North Pacific Ocean: This is the second most active basin in the world, and the most dense (a large number of storms for a small area of ocean). Storms that form here can affect western Mexico, Hawaii, northern Central America, and on extremely rare occasions, California. In the U.S., the Central Pacific Hurricane Center is responsible for forecasting the western part of this area while the National Hurricane Center is responsible for the eastern part.
- South Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical activity in this region largely affects Australia and Oceania, and is forecast by Australia and Papua New Guinea.
- Northern Indian Ocean: This basin is divided into two areas, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, with the Bay of Bengal dominating (5 to 6 times more activity). This basin's season has an interesting double peak; one in April and May before the onset of the monsoon, and another in October and November just after. Hurricanes which form in this basin have historically cost the most lives — most notably, the 1970 Bhola cyclone killed 200,000. Nations affected by this basin include India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and Pakistan, and all of these countries issue regional forecasts and warnings. Rarely, a tropical cyclone formed in this basin will affect the Arabian Peninsula.
- Southeastern Indian Ocean: Tropical activity in this region affects Australia and Indonesia, and is forecast by those nations.
- Southwestern Indian Ocean: This basin is the least understood, due to a lack of historical data. Cyclones forming here impact Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Kenya, and these nations issue forecasts and warnings for the basin.

Unusual formation areas

Kenya at 2300 UTC near the Madeira Islands.]] The following areas spawn tropical cyclones only very rarely.
- Southern Atlantic Ocean: A combination of cooler waters, the lack of an ITCZ, and wind shear makes it very difficult for the Southern Atlantic to support tropical activity. However, three tropical cyclones have been observed here — a weak tropical storm in 1991 off the coast of Africa, Hurricane Catarina (sometimes also referred to as Aldonça), which made landfall in Brazil in 2004 as a Category 1 hurricane, and a smaller storm in January 2004, east of Salvador, Brazil. The January storm is thought to have reached tropical storm intensity based on scatterometre winds.
- Central North Pacific: Shear in this area of the Pacific Ocean severely limits tropical development. However, this region is commonly frequented by tropical cyclones that form in the much more favorable Eastern North Pacific Basin.
- Eastern South Pacific: Tropical cyclones are rare in this region; activity is frequently linked to El Niño episodes. When they do form, they can affect the islands of Polynesia.
- Mediterranean Sea: Storms which appear similar to tropical cyclones in structure sometimes occur in the Mediterranean basin. Such cyclones formed in September 1947, September 1969, January 1982, September 1983, and January 1995. However, there is debate on whether these storms were tropical in nature.
- Northeastern Atlantic Ocean: In October 2005, Hurricane Vince formed near Madeira, then moved northeastward, passing south of the Portuguese south coast, and made landfall in southwestern Spain as a tropical storm. Vince's origin was the northernmost in the eastern Atlantic ever recorded, and Vince was the first storm in recorded history to reach the Iberian Peninsula as a tropical cyclone, i.e. before being transformed into an extratropical low or absorbed into other systems of low pressure.
- Australia: SW Pacific Basin includes the eastern part of Australia and the Fiji area.
- Australia: SE Indian Basin includes the eastern part of the Indian ocean and the northern and western part of the Australian basin.
- Southern South China Sea Tropical cyclones normally do not develop in the Southern South China Sea due to its close proximity to the equator. Areas within ten degrees laditude of the equator do not experience a significant coriolis force, a vital ingredient in tropical cyclone formation. However, in December 2001, Typhoon Vamei formed in the Southern South China Sea and made landfall in Malaysia. It caused flooding in southern Malaysia and some damage in Singapore. It formed from a thunderstorm formation in Borneo that moved into the South China Sea.

Average Season

Structure and classification

Borneo A strong tropical cyclone consists of the following components.
- Surface low: All tropical cyclones rotate around an area of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level.
- Warm core: Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation as moist air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically, around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.
- Central Dense Overcast (CDO): The Central Dense Overcast is a dense shield of very intense thunderstorm activity that make up the inner portion of the hurricane. This contains the eye wall, and the eye itself. The classic hurricane contains a symmetrical CDO, which means that it is perfectly circular and round on all sides.
- Eye: A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds (however, the sea may be extremely violent). Eyes are home to the coldest temperatures of the storm at the surface, and the warmest temperatures at the upper levels. The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 8 km to 200 km (5 miles to 125 miles) in diameter. In weaker cyclones, the CDO covers the circulation center, resulting in no visible eye.
- Eyewall: It is the area directly around the eye of the cyclone where the winds are the highest, the clouds reach furthest into the atmosphere and the precipitation is the heaviest. The heaviest damage caused by tropical cyclones occurs where the eyewall crosses over land.
- Outflow: The upper levels of a tropical cyclone feature winds headed away from the center of the storm with an anticyclonic rotation. Winds at the surface are strongly cyclonic, weaken with height, and eventually reverse themselves. Tropical cyclones owe this unique characteristic to the warm core at the center of the storm.

Types of tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group whose name depends on the region. A tropical depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 metres per second (33 knots, 38 mph, or 62 km/h). It has no eye, and does not typically have the spiral shape of more powerful storms. It is already becoming a low-pressure system, however, hence the name "depression". A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 33 meters per second (34–63 knots, 39–73 mph, or 62–117 km/h). At this point, the distinctive cyclonic shape starts to develop, though an eye is usually not present. Government weather services assign first names to systems that reach this intensity (thus the term named storm). At hurricane intensity, a tropical cyclone tends to develop an eye, an area of relative calm (and lowest atmospheric pressure) at the center of the circulation. The eye is often visible in satellite images as a small, circular, cloud-free spot. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area about 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 kilometers) wide in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds circulate around the storm's center. The circulation of clouds around a cyclone's center imparts a distinct spiral shape to the system. Bands or arms may extend over great distances as clouds are drawn toward the cyclone. The direction of the cyclonic circulation depends on the hemisphere; it is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones have been measured at more than 85 m/s (165 knots, 190 mph, 305 km/h). Intense, mature hurricanes can sometimes exhibit an inward curving of the eyewall top that resembles a football stadium: this phenomenon is thus sometimes referred to as stadium effect. Eyewall replacement cycles naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones. When cyclones reach peak intensity they usually - but not always - have an eyewall and radius of maximum winds that contract to a very small size, around 5 to 15 miles. At this point, some of the outer rainbands may organize into an outer ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves inward and robs the inner eyewall of its needed moisture and momentum. During this phase, the tropical cyclone is weakening (i.e. the maximum winds die off a bit and the central pressure goes up). Eventually the outer eyewall replaces the inner one completely and the storm can be the same intensity as it was previously or, in some cases, even stronger. While the most obvious motion of clouds is toward the center, tropical cyclones also develop an outward flow of clouds. These originate from air that has released its moisture and is expelled at high altitude through a chimney effect of the storm engine. This outflow produces high, thin cirrus clouds that spiral away from the center. The high cirrus clouds may be the first signs of an approaching hurricane.

Categories and ranking

Hurricanes are ranked according to their maximum winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest maximum winds, a Category 5 hurricane has the highest. The rankings are not absolute in terms of effects. Lower-category storms can inflict greater damage than higher-category storms, depending on factors such as local terrain and total rainfall. In fact, tropical systems of less than hurricane strength can produce significant damage and human casualties, especially from flooding and landslides. The National Hurricane Center classifies hurricanes of Category 3 and above as Major Hurricanes. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center classifies typhoons with wind speeds of at least 150 mi/h (67 m/s or 241 km/h, equivalent to a strong Category 4 storm) as Super Typhoons. The definition of sustained winds recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and used by most weather agencies is that of a 10-minute average. The U.S. weather service defines sustained winds based on 1-minute average speed measured about 10 meters (33 ft) above the surface.

Other storm systems

An extratropical cyclone is a storm that derives energy from horizontal temperature differences, which are typical in higher latitudes. A tropical cyclone can become extratropical as it moves toward higher latitudes if its energy source changes from heat released by condensation to differences in temperature between air masses. From space, extratropical storms have a characteristic "comma-shaped" cloud pattern. Extratropical cyclones can also be dangerous because their low-pressure centers cause powerful winds. In the United Kingdom and Europe, some severe northeast Atlantic cyclonic depressions are referred to as "hurricanes," even though they rarely originate in the tropics. These European windstorms can generate hurricane-force winds but are not given individual names. However, two powerful extratropical cyclones that ravaged France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in December 1999, "Lothar" and "Martin", were named due to their unexpected power (equivalent to a category 1 or 2 hurricane). In British Shipping Forecasts, winds of force 12 on the Beaufort scale are described as "hurricane force." There is also a polar counterpart to the tropical cyclone, called a polar low.

Movement and track

Large-scale winds

Although tropical cyclones are large systems generating enormous energy, their movements over the earth's surface are often compared to that of leaves carried along by a stream. That is, large-scale winds—the streams in the earth's atmosphere—are responsible for moving and steering tropical cyclones. The path of motion is referred to as a tropical cyclone's track. The major force affecting the track of tropical systems in all areas are winds circulating around high-pressure areas. Over the North Atlantic Ocean, tropical systems are steered generally westward by the east-to-west winds on the south side of the Bermuda High, a persistent high-pressure area over the North Atlantic. Also, in the area of the North Atlantic where hurricanes form, trade winds, which are prevailing westward-moving wind currents, steer tropical waves (precursors to tropical depressions and cyclones) westward from off the African coast toward the Caribbean and North America.

Coriolis effect

The earth's rotation also imparts an acceleration (termed the Coriolis Acceleration or Coriolis Effect). This acceleration causes cyclonic systems to turn towards the poles in the absence of strong steering currents (i.e. in the north, the northern part of the cyclone has winds to the west, and the Coriolis force pulls them slightly north. The southern part is pulled south, but since it is closer to the equator, the Coriolis force is a bit weaker there). Thus, tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere, which commonly move west in the beginning, normally turn north (and are then usually blown east), and cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere are deflected south, if no strong pressure systems are counteracting the Coriolis Acceleration. The Coriolis acceleration also initiates cyclonic rotation, but it is not the driving force that brings this rotation to high speeds. (Much of that is due to the conservation of angular momentum - air is drawn in from an area much larger than the cyclone such that the tiny angular velocity of that air will be magnified greatly when the distance to the storm center shrinks.)

Interaction with high and low pressure systems

Finally, when a tropical cyclone moves into higher latitude, its general track around a high-pressure area can be deflected significantly by winds moving toward a low-pressure area. Such a track direction change is termed recurve. A hurricane moving from the Atlantic toward the Gulf of Mexico, for example, will recurve to the north and then northeast if it encounters winds blowing northeastward toward a low-pressure system passing over North America. Many tropical cyclones along the U.S. East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico are eventually forced toward the northeast by low-pressure areas which move from west to east over North America.

Track forecasting

Because of the forces that affect tropical cyclone tracks, accurate track predictions depend on determining the position and strength of high- and low-pressure areas, and predicting how those areas will change during the life of a tropical system. With their understanding of the forces that act on tropical cyclones, and a wealth of data from earth-orbiting satellites and other sensors, scientists have increased the accuracy of track forecasts over recent decades. High-speed computers and sophisticated simulation software allow forecasters to produce computer models that forecast tropical cyclone tracks based on the future position and strength of high- and low-pressure systems. But while track forecasts have become more accurate than 20 years ago, scientists say they are less skillful at predicting the intensity of tropical cyclones. They attribute the lack of improvement in intensity forecasting to the complexity of tropical systems and an incomplete understanding of factors that affect their development.

Landfall

Officially, "landfall" is when a storm's center (the center of the eye, not its edge) reaches land. Naturally, storm conditions may be experienced on the coast and inland well before landfall. In fact, for a storm moving inland, the landfall area experiences half the storm before the actual landfall. For emergency preparedness, actions should be timed from when a certain wind speed will reach land, not from when landfall will occur.

Unusual landfall areas

The following areas rarely have a recorded landfall of a tropical cyclone: Europe: Because of the high latitudes, the European mainland have only a handful recorded landfalls made by hurricanes and or tropical storms. Notable examples are Hurricane Debbie of 1961 and Hurricane Vince of 2005. Azores: Like Europe, the Azores have a some recorded landfalls of hurricanes and tropical storms. Canary Islands: Until Tropical Storm Delta of 2005, the Canary Islands were rarely affected by any tropical storm or hurricanes. West African Coast: No recorded landfall of a tropical storm or hurricane although some come close but bypass the area. Cape Verde Islands: Some records of landfall made by a tropical storm or hurricane, most notably 1982's Tropical Storm Beryl that killed 115 people. Venezuela: Rarely a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall in this country. Notable examples are 1993's Tropical Storm Bret and Hurricane Joan of 1988. California: Rarely a tropical storm or hurricane have ever affected California. Notable storms were a tropical storm in 1939 and a hurricane in 1858. New Zealand: On rare circumstances, a cyclone or two have made landfall in that country.

Dissipation

A tropical cyclone can cease to have tropical characteristics in several ways:
- It moves over land, thus depriving it of the warm water it needs to power itself, and quickly loses strength. Most strong storms become disorganized areas of low pressure within a day or two of landfall. There is, however, a chance they could regenerate if they manage to get back over open warm water. If a storm is over mountains for even a short time, it can rapidly lose strength. This is, however, the cause of many storm fatalities, as the dying storm unleashes torrential rainfall, and in mountainous areas, this can lead to deadly mudslides. The storm loses strength slower over flatter or marshy areas than over mountainous terrain which disrupts the surface circulation of the storm more.
- It remains in the same area of ocean for too long, sucking up all the warm water. Without warm surface water, the storm cannot survive.
- It experiences wind shear, causing the convection to lose direction and the heat engine to break down.
- It can be weak enough to be consumed by another area of low pressure, disrupting it and joining to become a large area of non-cyclonic thunderstorms. (Such, however, can re-strengthen the non-tropical system as a whole.)
- It enters colder waters. This does not necessarily mean the death of the storm, but the storm will lose its tropical characteristics. These storms are extratropical cyclones.
- An outer eye wall forms (typically around 50 miles from the center of the storm), choking off the convection toward the inner eye wall. Such weakening is generally temporary unless it meets other conditions above. Even after a tropical cyclone is said to be extratropical or dissipated, it can still have tropical storm force (or occasionally hurricane force) winds and drop several inches of rainfall. When a tropical cyclone reaches higher latitudes or passes over land, it may merge with weather fronts or develop into a frontal cyclone, also called extratropical cyclone. In the Atlantic ocean, such tropical-derived cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane-force wind speeds when they reach Europe as a European windstorm.

Artificial dissipation

In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States government attempted to weaken hurricanes in its Project Stormfury by seeding selected storms with silver iodide. It was thought that the seeding would disrupt the storm's eyewall, causing it to collapse and thus reduce the winds. The winds of Hurricane Debbie dropped as much as 30 percent, but then regained their strength after each of two seeding forays. In an earlier episode, disaster struck when a hurricane east of Jacksonville, Florida, was seeded, promptly changed its course, and smashed into Savannah, Georgia. Because there was so much uncertainty about the behavior of these storms, the federal government would not approve seeding operations unless the hurricane had a less than 10 percent chance of making landfall within 48 hours. This placed severe restrictions on the project, and when the Navy pulled out in 1972, it all but killed any further attempts at hurricane seeding in the Atlantic. It was later discovered that eyewall disruption happens naturally as part of eyewall replacement cycles, and so the success of the program was impossible to gauge. Other approaches have been suggested over time, including cooling the water under a tropical cyclone by towing icebergs into the tropical oceans; covering the ocean in a substance that inhibits evaporation; or blasting the cyclone apart with nuclear weapons. These approaches all suffer from the same flaw: tropical cyclones are simply too large for any of them to be practical [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/C5f.html]. However, it has been suggested by some that we can change the course of a storm during its early stages of formation, (detailed by an article, Controlling Hurricanes, Scientific American, 2005), such as using satellite to alter the environmental conditions or, more realistically, spreading degradable film of oil over the ocean, which prevent water vapour from fueling the storm.

Monitoring, observation and tracking

Intense tropical cyclones pose a particular observation challenge. As they are a dangerous oceanic phenomenon, weather stations are rarely available on the site of the storm itself. Surface level observations are generally available only if the storm is passing over an island or a coastal area, or it has overtaken an unfortunate ship. Even in these cases, real-time measurement taking is generally possible only in the periphery of the cyclone, where conditions are less catastrophic. It is however possible to take in-situ measurements, in real-time, by sending specially equipped reconnaissance flights into the cyclone. In the Atlantic basin, these flights are regularly flown by US government hurricane hunters [http://www.hurricanehunters.com/]. The aircraft used are WC-130 Hercules and WP-3D Orions, both four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft. These aircraft fly directly into the cyclone and take direct and remote-sensing measurements. The aircraft also launch GPS dropsondes inside the cyclone. These sondes measure temperature, humidity, pressure, and especially winds between flight level and the ocean's surface. A new era in hurricane observation began when a remotely piloted Aerosonde, a small drone aircraft, was flown through Tropical Storm Ophelia as it passed Virginia's Eastern Shore during the 2005 hurricane season. This demonstrated a new way to probe the storms at low altitudes that human pilots seldom dare[http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/12699210.htm]. Tropical cyclones far from land are tracked by weather satellites using visible light and infrared bands. These satellite images are received regularly on half hour intervals. As the hurricane approaches land, the cyclone can also be imaged remotely by a nationwide system of Doppler radar. Land-based Doppler radars play a crucial role during landfall because they give forecasters the ability to see the storms location and intensity minute by minute. Recently, university researchers have begun to deploy mobile weather stations fortified to withstand hurricane-force winds. The two largest programs are the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program [http://www.ce.ufl.edu/~fcmp] and the Wind Engineering Mobile Instrumented Tower Experiment [http://www.atmo.ttu.edu/WEMITE/wemite.html]. During landfall, the NOAA Hurricane Research Division compares and quality controls reconnaissance aircraft data—which include flight-level, GPS sonde and stepped frequency microwave radiometer wind speed estimates—to wind speed data transmitted in real-time from weather stations erected near or at the coast. The National Hurricane Center uses these data to evaluate conditions at landfall and to verify its forecasts.

Naming of tropical cyclones

Storms reaching tropical storm strength (winds exceeding 17 metres per second, 38 mph, or 62 km/h) are given names, to assist in recording insurance claims, to assist in warning people of the coming storm, and to further indicate that these are important storms that should not be ignored. These names are taken from lists which vary from region to region and are drafted a few years ahead of time. The lists are decided upon, depending on the regions, either by committees of the World Meteorological Organization (called primarily to discuss many other issues), or by national weather services involved in the forecasting of the storms. Each year, the names of particularly destructive storms (if there were any) are "retired" and new names are chosen to take their place.

Naming schemes

The WMO's Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee selects the names for Atlantic Basin and central and eastern Pacific storms. In the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific regions, feminine and masculine names are assigned alternately in alphabetic order during a given season. The "gender" of the season's first storm also alternates year to year: the first storm of an odd-numbered year gets feminine name, while the first storm of an even-numbered year gets a masculine name. Six lists of names are prepared in advance, and each list is used once every six years. Five letters — "Q," "U," "X," "Y" and "Z" — are omitted in the Atlantic; only "Q" and "U" are omitted in the Eastern Pacific, so the format accommodates 21 or 24 named storms in a hurricane season. Names of storms may be retired by request of affected countries if they have caused extensive damage. The affected countries then decide on a replacement name of the same gender (and if possible, the same ethnicity) as the name being retired. If there are more than 21 named storms in an Atlantic season or 24 named storms in an Eastern Pacific season, the rest are named as letters from the Greek alphabet: the 22nd storm is called "Alpha," the 23rd "Beta," and so on. This was first necessary during the 2005 season when the names Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon were all used. There is no precedent for a storm named with a Greek Letter causing enough damage to justify retirement; how this situation would be handled is unknown. In the Central North Pacific region, the name lists are maintained by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Four lists of Hawaiian names are selected and used in sequential order without regard to year. In the Western North Pacific, name lists are maintained by the WMO Typhoon Committee. Five lists of names are used, with each of the 14 nations on the Typhoon Committee submitting two names to each list. Names are used in the order of the countries' English names, sequentially without regard to year. Japan Meteorological Agency uses a secondary naming system in Western North Pacific that numbers a typhoon on the order it formed, resetting on December 31 of every year. The Typhoon Songda in September 2004 is internally called the typhoon number 18 and is recorded as the typhoon 0418 with 04 taken from the year. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology maintains three lists of names, one for each of the Western, Northern and Eastern Australian regions. There are also Fiji region and Papua New Guinea region names. The Seychelles Meteorological Service maintains a list for the Southwest Indian Ocean.

History of tropical cyclone naming

For several hundred years after Europeans arrived in the West Indies, hurricanes there were named after the saint's day on which the storm struck. The practice of giving storms people's names was introduced by Clement Wragge, an Anglo-Australian meteorologist at the end of the 19th century. He used feminine names and the names of politicians who had offended him. During World War II, tropical cyclones were given feminine names, mainly for the convenience of the forecasters and in a somewhat ad hoc manner. For a few years afterwards, names from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet were used. The modern naming convention came about in response to the need for unambiguous radio communications with ships and aircraft. As transportation traffic increased and meteorological observations improved in number and quality, several typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones might have to be tracked at any given time. To help in their identification, beginning in 1953 the practice of systematically naming tropical storms and hurricanes was initiated by the United States National Hurricane Center, and is now maintained by the WMO. In keeping with the common English language practice of referring to inanimate objects such as boats, trains, etc., using the female pronoun "she," names used were exclusively feminine. The first storm of the year was assigned a name beginning with the letter "A", the second with the letter "B", etc. However, since tropical storms and hurricanes are primarily destructive, some considered this practice sexist. The National Weather Service responded to these concerns in 1979 with the introduction of masculine names to the nomenclature. It was also in 1979 that the practice of preparing a list of names before the season began. The names are usually of English, French or Spanish origin in the Atlantic basin, since these are the three predominant languages of the region where the storms typically form.

Renaming of tropical cyclones

In most cases, a tropical cyclone retains its name throughout its life. However, a tropical cyclone may be renamed in several occasions. 1. A tropical storm enters the southwestern Indian Ocean from the east In the south Indian Ocean, RSMC la Reunion names a tropical storm once it crosses 90°E from the east, even though it has been named. In this case, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) will put two names together with a hyphen. Examples: Oscar-Itseng(2004), Adeline-Juliet(2005) 2. A tropical storm crosses from the Atlantic into the Pacific, or vice versa, before 2001 It was the policy of National Hurricane Center (NHC) to rename a tropical storm which crossed from Atlantic into Pacific, or vice versa. Examples: Cesar-Douglas(1996), Joan-Miriam(1988) In 2001, when Iris moved across Central America, NHC mentioned that Iris would retain its name if it regenerated in the Pacific. However, the Pacific tropical depression developed from the remnants of Iris was called Fifteen-E instead. The depression later became tropical storm Manuel. NHC explained that the Iris had dissipated as a tropical cyclone prior to entering the eastern North Pacific basin, the new depression was properly named Fifteen-E, rather than Iris. In 2003, when Larry was about to move across Mexico, NHC attempted to provide greater clarity: :Should Larry remain a tropical cyclone during its passage over Mexico into the Pacific, it would retain its name. However, a new name would be given if the surface circulation dissipates and then regenerates in the Pacific. Up to now, there has been no tropical cyclone retaining its name during the passage from Atlantic to Pacific, or vice versa. 3. Uncertainties of the continuation When the remnants of a tropical cyclone redevelop, the redeveloping system will be treated as a new tropical cyclone if there are uncertainties of the continuation, even though the original system may contribute to the forming of the new system. Example: TD10/TD12 (eventually developed into Hurricane Katrina) (2005) 4. Human faults Sometimes, there may be human faults leading to the renaming of a tropical cyclone. Example: Ken-Lola(1989)

Effects

Ken-Lola. Katrina was the most costly tropical cyclone in United States history.]] A mature tropical cyclone can release heat at a rate upwards of 6x10¹⁴ watts [http://www.noaa.gov/questions/question_082900.html]. Tropical cyclones on the open sea cause large waves, heavy rain, and high winds, disrupting international shipping and sometimes sinking ships. However, the most devastating effects of a tropical cyclone occur when they cross coastlines, making landfall. A tropical cyclone moving over land can do direct damage in four ways.
- High winds - Hurricane strength winds can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, etc. High winds also turn loose debris into flying projectiles, making the outdoor environment even more dangerous.
- Storm surge - Tropical cyclones cause an increase in sea level, which can flood coastal communities. This is the worst effect, as cyclones claim 80% of their victims when they first strike shore.
- Heavy rain - The thunderstorm activity in a tropical cyclone causes intense rainfall. Rivers and streams flood, roads become impassable, and landslides can occur.
- Tornado activity - The broad rotation of a hurricane often spawns tornadoes. While these tornadoes are normally not as strong as their non-tropical counterparts, they can still cause tremendous damage. Tornado Often, the secondary effects of a tropical cyclone are equally damaging. They include:
- Disease - The wet environment in the aftermath of a tropical cyclone, combined with the destruction of sanitation facilities and a warm tropical climate, can induce epidemics of disease which claim lives long after the storm passes. One of the most common post-hurricane injuries is stepping on a nail in storm debris, leading to a risk of tetanus or other infection. Infections of cuts and bruises can be greatly amplified by wading in sewage-polluted water.
- Power outages - Tropical cyclones often knock out power to tens or hundreds of thousands of people (or occasionally millions if a large urban area is affected), prohibiting vital communication and hampering rescue efforts.
- Transportation difficulties - Tropical cyclones often destroy key bridges, overpasses, and roads, complicating efforts to transport food, clean water, and medicine to the areas that need it.

Beneficial effects of tropical cyclones

Although cyclones take an enormous toll in lives and personal property, they may bring much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions. Hurricane Camille averted drought conditions and ended water deficits along much of its path. Hurricane Floyd did the same thing in New Jersey in 1999. The destruction caused by Camille on the Gulf coast spurred redevelopment as well, greatly increasing local property values. On the other hand, disaster response officials point out that redevelopment encourages more people to live in clearly dangerous areas subject to future deadly storms (as shown by the effects of Hurricane Katrina). Of course, many former residents and businesses do relocate to inland areas away from the threat of future hurricanes as well. Hurricanes also help to maintain global heat balance by moving warm, moist tropical air to the mid-latitudes and polar regions.

Long term trends in cyclone activity

While the number of storms in the Atlantic has increased since 1995, there seems to be no signs of a global trend; the global number of tropical cyclones remains about 90 ± 10. [http://wind.mit.edu/~emanuel/anthro2.htm]. Atlantic storms are certainly becoming more destructive financially, since five of the ten most expensive storms in United States history have occurred since 1990. This can to a large extent be attributed to the number of people living in susceptible coastal area, and massive development in the region since the last surge in Atlantic hurricane activity in the 1960s. Often in part because of the threat of hurricanes, many coastal regions ha

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. It covers most of the Caribbean Plate and is bounded on the south by Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, to the north by the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 square miles). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trench, between Cuba and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 feet) below sea level. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, especially the numerous islands, is known as the Caribbean.

Cancun

Cancún, meaning 'Serpent's Nest', is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo. It is the municipal seat of Benito Juárez municipality and a world renowned tourist resort.

Geography

The average temperature in Cancún is 27° C (80° F) with more than 240 days of sunshine, and rain is rare, with late August through early October being the rainy season. The beaches are almost 100 percent limestone; the porous quality of the limestone makes for cool sand even under the intense tropical sun. Cancún is divided into two parts: The narrow 23-kilometer-long (14-mile) island section (Cancún Island) is lined with modern beachfront hotels surrounded by the Bahía de Mujeres (Bay of Women), the Caribbean Sea, and the Nichupte and Bojorquez lagoons. The mainland downtown commercial section (Cancún City), connected to the island by two bridges, has broad avenues lined with whitewashed shops, restaurants, and hotels.

History

In the early 1950s Cancún was an almost unpopulated and undeveloped island just off the Caribbean Sea coast of the Yucatán peninsula, home to three caretakers of a coconut plantation and small Pre-Columbian ruins of the Maya civilization. The government of Mexico decided to develop a tourist resort on Cancún, which was originally financed by a USD $27 million loan from the International Development Bank. A causeway was built to link Cancún to the mainland, and an international airport was built, along with what was at first a model city for workers, complete with housing, schools and medical facilities. On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is Nichupte Lagoon, which is used for boat and snorkelling tours of the area. Development of Cancún started in 1970 and grew rapidly in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the original very sensible master plan was repeatedly modified and, on the mainland, often ignored. According to long-time resident Jules Siegel (author of the "Cancún User's Guide" and translator of Fernando Martí's "Cancún, Fantasy of Bankers"), municipal authorities have struggled to provide public services for the constant influx of people, as well as to control squatters and irregular developments, which now occupy an estimated ten to fifteen percent of the mainland area on the fringes of the city, he says. Despite initial skepticism that forced the Mexican government to finance the first eight hotels, Cancún soon attracted investors from all over the world, but approximately 70% of the Hotel Zone properties are owned by Mexicans, many of them local residents, Siegel says. The figure is close to 100% for the mainland. Some observers believe that the resort is foreign-owned because they are confused by the hotel operating companies, which are international companies that supply administration and marketing services. They do not usually own the hotels themselves. Even outlets of restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Domino's Pizza are Mexican-owned. The city has grown rapidly over the past thirty years to become a city of approximately half a million residents, covering the former island and the nearby mainland. There are actually very few true 'cancunenses' (people originally from Cancún) because of the rate at which the resort and its service areas grew. Most people living here are from mainland Mexico and a growing number are from the rest of America and Europe. The city Cancún and its flourishing tourism industry were heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma, which hit the area on October 22, 2005.

Environmental concerns

Although some environmentalists claim that Cancún is an environmental disaster, Siegel says that is not true. There has obviously been environmental damage and the situation could deteriorate rapidly, he reports, but at present (February 2005) Cancún's main problem is a breakdown of garbage collection and disposal as a result of political conflicts that will hopefully be solved by a new administration elected February 6, 2005. Sewage treatment is another danger point, he says. Although approximately 75% of the city has public sewer lines, many homes rely on septic tanks. The underground water table is beginning to show symptoms of contamination, but by the standards of most populated areas in the United States the water is still relatively clean. "You can see the bottom of the Caribbean off Cancún in satellite photographs," Siegel says. He discusses this and other issues at length on his website, http://www.cafecancun.com.

Tourism in Cancún

In Cancún there are about 140 hotels with 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily. The hotel zone is one of the most exclusive internationally, with upmarket restaurants, bars, and the like which have catered for quite a number of the rich and famous. The hotel zone tends to be rather expensive as it is aimed at visitors and relies on the all inclusive hotels to keep them all in this area allowing prices to soar. Downtown is home to less expensive places to shop like Walmart, Comercial Mexicana and Soriana, not to mention several flea markets like the one in the hotel zone. Around March and April, Cancún experiences a flood of college students (usually from the United States) who travel to Cancún to party. For just about all of these students, drinking alcohol is usually the reason why they come to Cancún. The drinking age in Mexico is 18; while in the United States, it is 21. Downtown Cancún gives us a different aspect. There are also many clubs for all types of people, including gay clubs like Karamba or Glow, but the hotels are more accessible to all types of travelers, including some with lower rates. International brands in Downtown area are Radisson Hacienda Cancún, Best Western Plaza Caribe, Oasis America. United States The temperature of the city is warm, moderated by the marine breeze which circulates through its avenues. The temperatures are typically between 26°C and 36°C (78.8°F and 96.8°F). Cancún's hotel zone also has an interactive aquarium where visitors can see the marine diversity of the area, swim with dolphins and feed sharks. Here and there in the hotel zone are some ancient ruins. The main language in Cancún is Spanish, although English is widely spoken throughout the tourist areas. Mayan dialects are also spoken between some workers and people born in the Yucatán peninsula. Cancún is served by Cancún International Airport.

Hurricane Wilma

Wilma was the twenty-first named storm, twelfth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the third Category 5 hurricane of the season, beating the records set by the 1960 and 1961 seasons. At its peak, it was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin and the tenth most intense globally, with the lowest atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere of 882 millibars (26.05 inHg) at sea level, exceeding the record previously held by Hurricane Gilbert that also impacted the Peninsula of Yucatán some years ago. Cancún International Airport) on October 19, 2005.]] On October 21, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with winds in excess of 150 mph. The hurricane's eye first passed over the island of Cozumel, and then made an official landfall near Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo at around midnight on October 22 EDT with winds near 140 mph. Portions of the island of Cozumel experienced the calm eye of Wilma for several hours with some blue skies and sunshine visible at times. The eye slowly drifted northward, with the center passing just to the west of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Some portions of the Yucatán Peninsula experienced hurricane force winds for well over 24 hours. The hurricane began accelerating in the early morning hours of October 23, exiting the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and entering the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm. Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula, particularly in Cancun. At least three deaths have been reported, numerous people have disappeared, and the insured damage is estimated at between US$5 and US$8 billion. The devastation was almost total with many of the principal roadways from the Hotel Zone completely flooded and damaged. It has been estimated that 95% of the tourism infrastructure was seriously damaged. Once the storm left the peninsula, some of the beautiful beaches of Cancun had been washed away. Thousands of local and foreign tourists were hosted in improvised refuges. All the Airport and Harbor Operations were cancelled between October 21 to the 25 due to the worst weather conditions. Hurricane Wilma It is estimated that after Wilma left Cancun, the local tourist industry lost over US $15 Million daily. Many houses were devastated, and many jobs were lost. However, thanks to the aid and support of local and state governments, the federal government, the Red Cross, and civil associations. reconstruction has been possible. American actor Mel Gibson donated an important amount of money to help the people in distress. There was an exhaustive campaign by the media that featured public figures, including the President Vicente Fox, actors, musicians, etc. to aid people who suffered. The people's response was immediate and impresionant. People from all social strata helped carry water bottles to donate money in special bank accounts that principal banks created. It was estimated that Cancun will be completely ready to face the demanding vacationist wave on December 2005. Today, Cancun once more lives and remains an attractive option to local and foreign tourists from all the world.

Sister cities

- Miami, Florida, United States
- Wichita, Kansas, United States

External links

- [http://www.visitmexico.com VisitMexico.com (Mexico Tourism Board)]
- [http://www.cancunmx.com/ CancunMX.com (Travel information for Cancún)]
- [http://www.cancun101.com/cancun-info.html Student's Travel Guide]
- Category:Cities in Quintana Roo Category:Islands of Mexico ja:カンクン

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and various adjacent small islands. The name Cuba is said to be derived from the Taíno word cubanacán, meaning "a central place." It is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States, and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti, and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are south of eastern Cuba.

History

Cuba was first visited by Europeans when explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall here for the first time on October 28, 1492, at the eastern tip of Cuba, in the Cazigazgo of Baracoa. Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar led the Spanish invasion, subdued the indigenous populations, became governor of Cuba for Spain in 1511 and built a villa in Baracoa, which became the first capital of the island and also in 1518 [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07153b.htm] the seat of the (Diocese) of the first bishop of Cuba. At that time Cuba was populated by at least two distinct indigenous peoples: Taíno and Ciboney (or Siboney). Both groups were prehistoric neolithic, perhaps copper age, cultures. Some scholars consider it important to distinguish the Taíno from the neo-Taíno nations of Cuba, the Lucaya of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and to a lesser extent from Haiti and Quisqueya (approximately the Dominican Republic), since the neo-Taíno had far more diverse cultural input and a greater societal and ethnic heterogeneity than the true high Taíno of Boriquen (Puerto Rico). Most of pre-Colombian inhabitants of Cuba, including the Siboney, can in first approximation fall under the general group of neo-Taíno. The Taíno were skilled farmers and the Ciboney were a hunter-gatherer society with supplemental farming. Taínos and Ciboney took part in similar customs and beliefs, one being the sacred ritual practiced using tobacco called cohoba, known in English as smoking. The Taínos (Island Arawak) were part of a cultural group commonly called the Arawak, which extends far into South America. Residues of Taíno poetry, songs, sculpture, and art are found today throughout the major Antilles. The Arawak and other such cultural groups are responsible for the flourishing development of perhaps 60% of crops in common use today and some major industrial materials such as rubber. Europeans were shown by the indigenous Cubans how to cultivate tobacco and to smoke it in various ways. Approximately 16 to 60 thousand, or perhaps many more, indigenous from the Taíno and Ciboney nations inhabited Cuba before colonization. The Indigenous Cuban population, including the Ciboney and the Taíno, were forced into encomiendas during the Spanish subjugation of the island of Cuba. One famous reservation was known as Guanabacoa, today a suburb of Havana. Many indigenous Cubans fell victim to the brutality of Spanish conquistadores (as witnessed and lamented by the people as Bartolomé de Las Casas) and the diseases they brought with them, which were previously unknown to them. Most Conquistadors took Taínas as brides, common law wives or as was more frequent had casual sexual congress with these with these island women [http://opwest.org/Archive/2003/200303_OriqueThesis/200303_01_oriquethesis.htm] since few Spanish women crossed the Atlantic in those days of conquest. Their children were called mestizo, but the residents called them Guajiro, which translates as "one of us". Today, Taíno descendants maintain their heritage near Baracoa. Cuba had first served as base for Spanish conquest of the mainland of the Americas, but the island was almost depopulated in this effort. After the conquest of the Americas the resulting treasure, mined gold and silver, emeralds, chocolate and several then important plant products such as dyes and medicine was transported in the Spanish treasure fleet from the Americas and later from the Philippines to Spain using Cuban ports as safe harbors along the way. In this period there were further indigenous risings most especially that of Guamá, one of the last Taino leaders to organize resistance to Spanish rule. But once Taino/Ciboney uprisings were no longer a concern, new ones arose from buccaneers, pirates, and privateers (e.g. Jacques de Sores [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/colonial.htm]), Alexander Exquemelin and Henry Morgan) and invasions as other countries (e.g. England Guantánamo Bay) tried to take the possessions that the Spanish had gathered for themselves, and their colonial descendents viewed as their own. Attacks on both ships and cities required Spain to respond by organizing convoys to protect the ships and building forts to protect the cities. However, Cuba’s most effective defense was yellow fever which killed off invading forces. yellow fever Spanish mercantilism caused Spain to keep Cuba relatively isolated to external influences, but beginning with the year long occupation of Havana by the British in 1762 at the end of the Seven Years' War, Cuba became more open economically to both the importation of slaves and advances in sugar cultivation and processing. The massive La Cabaña fortress, never taken by assault, which completely dominates Havana Bay was built soon after Havana, exchanged for Florida, was returned to Spain. However, the fortress would later become infamous as a place of execution and imprisonment, not unlike the Bastille in Paris. Cuban colonial forces participated in Spain's efforts during the American Revolutionary War, helping Spain to gain East and West Florida. Between 1791 to 1804, many French fled to Cuba from the Haitian revolution, bringing with them slaves and expertise in sugar refining and coffee growing. As a result Cuba became the world's major sugar producer, but by 1884, slavery was abolished after having been weakened during the struggle to secure independence for Cuba. The colony's struggle for independence lasted throughout the second half of the 19th century with the first effort with any success being the Ten Years' War beginning in 1868 . The writer and rebel organizer José Martí landed in Cuba with rebel exiles in 1895, but little more than a month later was killed in battle. He remains the major hero in Cuba to this day, and his legacy is claimed by both the supporters and opponents of the current government. While he expressed a preference for the U.S. Constitution and enjoyed some popularity in the United States, he was concerned about U.S. expansionism. It is notable that some Taíno first fought the Mambi and then joined them to comprise the Hatuey Regiment [http://www.kacike.org/Barreiro.html]. Between 1895 and early 1898 revolution controlled most of the countryside and some towns, but the efforts of the Spanish, who held the major cities, to pacify the island did not cease until the United States occupied the island in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Cuban independence was granted in 1902, though limited by the Platt Amendment, which granted the United States a major influence in Cuban affairs and required Cuba to grant the United States a lease for Guantánamo Bay. Tomás Estrada Palma (term 1902-1906) was Cuba's first peacetime and elected president. Using the provisions of the Platt Amendment, U.S. troops occupied Cuba a second time from 1906 to 1909. The Platt Amendment was revoked in 1934, but the lease of Guantánamo Bay was extended against a nominal sum. Fulgencio Batista led the 1933 Sergeants' Revolt overthrowing the transitional government after Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship collapsed, and became first the Army Chief of Staff and eventually the man in charge under a series of presidents until 1940 when he was elected president himself. He had passed a new progressive constitution and in 1944 left office retiring to Florida for a time. However, in 1952 Batista seized power in an almost bloodless coup three months before the planned election and instituted an oppressive dictatorship. As a result many civil and guerrilla groups started opposing him. 1952 In 1953, Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada barracks, was exiled to Mexico, but returned to Cuba on November 1956 with 82 fighters trained by Alberto Bayo (a former colonel in the Spanish Republican Army), and with the help of popular discontent managed to overthrow Batista, who fled the country, on 1 January 1959. Castro established a Soviet-leaning one party Communist state, the first in the Western Hemisphere, although Castro did not officially reveal his Marxist-Leninist leanings until 1961. According to Antonio Núñez Jiménez at the time when Batista was deposed, 75% of Cuba's prime farm land was owned by foreign individuals or foreign (mostly U.S.) companies. Cuba’s main crop was sugar, for the American and to a lesser extent English market. Most of Cuba's sugar was exported to the United States because Cuba was given a large quota, which was paid above world prices in part to help domestic US industry. [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cable/cable-3-16-55.htm] The new revolutionary government adopted successive "land reforms" and eventually confiscated almost all private property. At first, Castro was reluctant to discuss his plans for the future, but eventually he declared himself a communist, explained that he was trying to build socialism in Cuba, focusing on free health care and education for all, and began close political and economic relations with the Soviet Union. Since Castro came to power, the United States has since progressively enacted legislation intended to isolate Cuba economically via the U.S. embargo and other measures, such as prosecuting US citizens who vacation in Cuba. For more on these issues see the Economy section below The Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961 by U.S. backed Cuban expatriates failed because U.S. president John F. Kennedy left the invaders stranded for fear of getting officially involved. The expected urban revolt collapsed when it became clear Brigade 2506 had been abandoned to its fate; and because the Soviet Union warned Castro, who ordered numerous executions and preemptive mass arrests of those thought likely to support a counter-revolution. [http://www.uoregon.edu/~caguirre/ackerman.pdf],(Priestland, 2003). Church schools were confiscated, clergy were arrested, [http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/clark12298.html] and expelled en masse. In the rural central provinces the War Against the Bandits (circa 1959-1965) was suppressed by massed Castro militia, many executions and internal deportations of rebel supporters. The Cuban Missile Crisis started with the Soviet Union installing nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962. In response, the United States put up a blockade in international waters. This is generally believed to be the closest the world has come to a nuclear holocaust. The Soviet Union backed down, agreeing to remove the missiles in exchange for United States promises to remove similar nuclear missiles in Turkey and to never invade Cuba again. After this, the United States never openly threatened Cuba again, but was said to engage in absurdly elaborate covert activities to assassinate Castro, namely The Cuban Project. Castro and the US dueled in Cold War actions. In a 1976 a notorious terrorist attack on Cubana Flight 455 in which 73 died was allegedly masterminded by CIA funded Castro opponents operating from Venezuela. In April 1980, over 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. In response to this, Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the port of Mariel. Under the Mariel boatlift, over 125,000 Cubans migrated to the United States. Eventually the United States stopped the flow of vessels and Cuba ended the uncontrolled exodus. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 dealt Cuba a giant economic blow. This led to another unregulated exodus of asylum seekers to the United States in 1994, which was slowed to a trickle of a few thousand a year by the U.S.-Cuban accords. Now it seems to be increasing again although at a far slower rate than before [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/13331841.htm].

Politics

The Cuban constitution states that, "the Communist Party of Cuba...is the superior guiding force of society and the state". Members of the Communist Party of Cuba are selected by the party in a thorough process that includes interviews with co-workers and neighbors. Those selected are considered model citizens because they are viewed as strong supporters of the revolution. It makes recommendations concerning the future development of the revolution, and it criticizes tendencies it considers counterrevolutionary. It has a relatively large influence in Cuba, but its authority is moral, not on any legal authority. Elections are held by secret ballot. The Communist Party of Cuba is the sole legal political party, and no other party is legally allowed to exist. The vast majority of candidates are members of the Communist Party despite the fact that only 15 percent of the Cuban electorate are members. However, independent candidates are allowed to stand and do get elected. Critics of the Cuban government say the high proportion of Communists in power is due to the Communist Party's control over Cuba, while supporters say it shows that the Party has wide support among the populace. Save for those convicted of crimes, everyone age 16 or older can vote. The people nominate and elect candidates for the municipal assemblies. Candidates for the National Assembly are nominated by municipal assemblies and put to a yes/no vote; citizens are to vote for several candidates at both levels of government and may vote for none, some, or all of them. If the candidates do not receive more than 51% of the votes, new elections will be scheduled. Legislative power is nominally in the hands of the National Assembly of People’s Power. However, save for two sessions a year, legislative power is exercised by the 31 member Council of State which is elected by the National Assembly from itself. Executive authority is formally vested in the Council of Ministers, a large cabinet comprised of 8 members of the Council of State, the heads of the national ministries, and other persons. A smaller Executive Committee consisting of the more important members of the Council of Ministers oversees normal business. Fidel Castro has been the head of government since 1959, first as prime minister and, after the abolition of that office with the adoption of the 1976 Constitution, as President of the Council of State, which also serves as head of state. He is also First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and since 1976 a member of the National Assembly from the municipality of Santiago de Cuba. (The 1976 Consitution and its 1992 revision require that the President of the Council of State be a member of the National Assembly.)

Human rights

The Cuban government has in the past been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extra-judicial executions. Many argue that several thousand unjustified deaths have occurred under Castro's leadership. However, although dissidents currently complain of 'low-intensity' harrassment, there are no claims of torture and the administration banned capital punishment in 2001, making an exception for the perpetrator of an armed hijacking 2 years later. Military Units to Aid Production (or UMAPs) were labor camps established in 1965, according to Castro, for "people who have committed crimes against revolutionary morals" in order to work counter-revolutionary influences out of certain segments of the population. Groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also criticize the alleged censorship, the lack of press freedom in Cuba, the lack of civil rights, the outlawing of political opposition groups and unions, and the lack of free and democratic elections. The government recognizes only one labor union, the Worker's Central of Cuba (Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, CTC). Independent labor unions are denied formal status and their members are harassed. No local human rights groups enjoy legal status. Cuba remains one of the few countries in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere, to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons. [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/cuba9848.htm] Supporters of the Cuban government argue that the human rights record, living standards and health care in Cuba are better than those which existed under Castro's predecessor, Fulgencio Batista, and would have continued improving were it not for American economic sanctions imposed in 1962. They also argue that the electoral system in today's Cuba is more democratic than when Cuba was essentially a satellite state of the United States. Opponents argue that many measures of living standards have decreased since the revolution, that health care has improved in many other Latin American countries, and that Cuba is the only Latin American country not to have democratized in a post-Cold War environment. Justifying the Cuban government's policies, Castro claims they are an appropriate response to alleged U.S. covert activities in Cuba.

Provinces

Cuba is now divided into 14 provinces, and one special municipality (the Isla de la Juventud). Cuba in the Early 20th Century, (see History of Cuba) was divided into six much larger provinces. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence.

Geography

History of Cuba Geologically Cuba was once in the Pacific, and crossing between North and South America before they were joined, "crashed" into what is now Florida [http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02mexico/background/geology/geology.html]. Cuba, 65 million years ago, also received part of the impact of Chicxulub Crater with tsunami kilometers high reaching at least 500 Km away to the middle provinces [http://www.cuba.cu/ciencia/citma/ama/museo/pugeorr.htm], [http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulos/26483.html] and beyond. The elongated island (aprox. 760 miles long) of Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and is bounded to the north by the Straits of Florida and the greater North Atlantic Ocean, to the northwest by the Gulf of Mexico, to the west by the Yucatan Channel, to the south by the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Windward Passage. The Republic comprises the entire island, including many outlying islands such as the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), previously known as the Isla de los Pinos (Isle of Pines). Guantánamo Bay, is a naval base that has been leased by the United States since 1903, a lease that has been contested since 1960 by Castro. The main island is the world's 16th largest. The island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains, with more rugged hills and mountains primarily in the southeast and the highest point is the Pico Real del Turquino at 2,005 m. The local climate is tropical, though moderated by trade winds. There is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Some of the well-known smaller towns are Baracoa which was the first Spanish settlement on Cuba, as well as Trinidad and Bayamo.
- ISBN 959-7117-03-7

Society

Demographics

Bayamo According to the CIA's World Factbook, Cuba is 51% mulatto (mixed white and black), 37% white, 11% black, and 1% Chinese. The Chinese population in Cuba derives mostly from Chinese taken to Cuba during the 19th century to build railroads and work in the mines, as was also occurring in the United States at this time. Once the work was completed, however, most of them could not afford the passage back to China and remained in the Island. Historical papers show that, while considered inferior to Cubans of European descent, they were considered to be superior to blacks because they had lighter skin. In Cuba there is little racial tension in the attitude of people towards each other. Still, in Santiago de Cuba there is a sizeable Jamaican population that suffers from an image of being lazy. Also, lighter skinned people often have 'higher' jobs (although in socialist Cuba this does not translate in a high difference in income). The melting pot is expressed not only in a racial sense, but also in religion (see below) and the music of Cuba. There is internal illegal immigration to Havana seeking greater opportunities, these internal illegals are called "palestinos." Cuba has a low birth rate. The fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman (in 1995-2000) is the lowest of any country in the western hemisphere (tied with Canada and Barbados). A contributing cause is Cuba's policy of abortion on demand. Cuba has a high abortion rate of 77.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1996, 3rd highest in the world among 55 countries whose abortion rate was available to be compiled in a 1999 UN study. [http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abt/fabt.htm] Selective terminiation of high-risk pregnancies is one factor contributing to the low official infant mortality rate in Cuba of 5.8 per thousand births. ([http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2005_(English).pdf State of the World's Children 2005]) However, this high abortion rate and very low birth rate, reminiscent of former Communist Eastern Europe and Russia, threatens to cause the population to shrink significantly in the coming decades, although this has not happened yet due to relatively small numbers of elderly. Immigration and emigration have had noticeable changes in the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1930 close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain. Cuba has historically been more heavily European than other Caribbean islands, and in 1950 was said to have a 75% white majority. Since 1959, over a million Cubans have left the island, primarily to Miami, Florida where a vocal, well educated and economically very successful anti-Castro community exists (Cuban-American lobby). [http://www.sela.org/public_html/AA2K2/eng/docs/coop/migra/spsmirdi12-02/spsmirdi12-2.htm] The emigration that occurred immediately after the Cuban Revolution was primarily of the upper and middle classes that were predominantly white, thus contributing to a demographic shift along with changes in birth rates among the various ethnic groups. After the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift, Cuba and the United States (commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords [http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/1990s/clinton.html]) have agreed to limit emigration to the United States. Under this, the United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate (20,000 since 1994) while those Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba. However, U.S. law [http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/CAA.htm] grants U.S. residency to any Cuban who arrives on U.S. soil without a visa, thus there is still an unofficial exodus [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/13141840.htm]; these escapes are often most ingenious e.g. [http://www.local6.com/news/5330948/detail.html]. The numbers of Cubans who leave by sea is still about 2.000 a year but the trend is upward at present [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/13331841.htm].

Education

The University of Havana, Cuba's oldest university, was founded in 1721; prior to 1959 there were two other official universities Universidad de Oriente (founded in 1947) and Universidad Central de Las Villas (founded in 1857); private universities included Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva (founded in 1946); in 1961 private schools and universities were nationalized (without payment), [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba5/FILE25.PDF], [http://sunsite.tus.ac.jp/pub/academic/chemistry/iupac/Download/publications/ci/1999/march/cuba.html]. Historically, Cuba has had some of the highest rates of education and literacy in Latin America [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba8/30smith.pdf]. In Cuba literacy was defined as the ability to write a letter to Castro [http://www.communitytechnology.org/cuba/photos.html]. Based on this 1961 criteria], illiteracy was first eradicated after the Cuban revolution. These statistics have been challenged [http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2539] In a 1998 study by UNESCO which used Cuban governments statistics, Cuban third and fourth graders were reported better educated in basic language and mathematics skills than children in other Latin American countries that took part in the study, with the "test achievement of the lower half of students in Cuba is significantly better than the test achievement of the upper half of students in the countries that (fell) immediately behind Cuba" in the study group. [http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/1998cuba.html] All students regardless of age and gender wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level.

Public health

Castro has long made the promise of free, universal health care an important part of the case for his government. Cuba's healthcare system is widely regarded as one of the best in the developing world; however WHO data cited here comes directly from national health authorities of each country [http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ais/coredata.htm]. Cuba has had good doctors for centuries such as Carlos Finlay, who determined how yellow fever was spread. The massive Havana hospital, "Calixto Garcia" as well as 72 others were operating well before 1959. http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba8/30smith.pdf, http://136.142.158.105/Lasa2003/McGuireJames.pdf However, like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care has suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies. Support from the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez has alleviated some of those problems. Today, Cuba has over 20,000 health workers in Venezuela, with over 5,000 more spread around the world in over 60 additional countries, as it views such missions an important part of its foreign policy. They offer medical services to 85,154,748 people; 34,700,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 50,400,000 in Africa and Asia. These health workers are not allowed to have their families travel with them, which some observers charge is to insure the workers will return and not defect [http://www.forbes.com/home/free_forbes/2005/1114/204.html]. Like a number of countries, Cuba has developed a hospital system for health tourists, taking advantage of a combination of low labor costs, an educated work force, and the ability of such tourists to pay in much desired hard currency for their care. It is not open to regular Cuban citizens. The country is now able to operate and provide services in all branches of ophthalmology to hundreds of thousands of patients. Castro promises that one hundred thousand Venezuelans will receive these services this year, and until July 2005, 25,024 patients from said country, and a similar number of Cubans will have been operated on [http://www.nnc.cubaweb.cu/agosto-05/nac9208-05.htm]. 15,000 citizens of the Caribbean community will receive this form of medical care between the second half of June 2005 and June 2006. Venezuela and Cuba have offered to provide another 100,000 Latin Americans with this service within the same period. Cuba has been able to reduce reported infant mortality to zero in certain remote rural areas.[http://www.lademajagua.co.cu/archivo2003.htm].

Economy

Cuba's socialist economy is based on state ownership with some small scale private enterprise allowed or disallowed as government wishes. For 2005, 68% of the state budget spending is to be directed to raising the levels of education, public health, social security, culture, sports and science and technology. [http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/diciembre/vier24/01presup.html] According to Cuban statistics, during the first half of the year the Cuban economy grew by 7.3% and an increase of around 9% is expected by the end of the year, as a result of the positive tendencies that have been observed. [http://www.mltoday.com/Pages/Cuba/Fidel-Moncada-05.html] Since the fall of Cuba's many trading partners, the island has focused on urban communal farms. "Last year alone we produced 27 kilograms of vegetables per square metre. When we first started this farm three years ago it stood at 18 kilograms. And we expect this year's harvest to yield no less than 30 kilograms. That's an increase of around 30% year on year.", says Senora Hernandes, in charge of one of hundreds of small urban farms dotted around Havana. "A recent report by the American agency for sustainable farming, Food First, said annual production of fruit and vegetables is growing at 250% a year." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1409898.stm] Historically, sugar, tobacco and (later) nickel were the main sources of foreign trade income for Cuba. But in the 1990s tourism saw an explosive growth, becoming the second most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean to the Dominican Republic. Until recently Cubans also receive an estimated $850 million annually from Cubans in the U.S. who send money to relatives or friends. In 1993 the U.S. dollar was made legal tender (the country operated under a dual-currency system); this arrangement was, however, revoked on 25 October 2004. At that time, use of the dollar in business was officially banned, and a 10% surcharge was introduced for the conversion of dollars (in cash) to convertible pesos, the island's new official currency. Other currencies, including the euro, were not affected. See details at [http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/dollar/2004/1026cubadollar.htm the Ludwig Van Mises Institute]. The Cuban economy was hit hard in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Comecon economic bloc, with which it had traded predominantly. For several decades, Cuba received what was effectively a Soviet subsidy, whereby Cuba provided the Soviet Union with sugar and the Soviets provided Cuba with petroleum at below market prices. In response, Cuba opened up to tourism, which is now a major source of incom

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