Average Sea Temperature and Hurricanes by Wind Strength

Let's look at an example from 2005. In Figure 5.16, we see that the waters off the coasts of Middle America are the strengthening zone for hurricanes that occur in the North Atlantic. Some of these 2005 hurricanes made landfall in Middle America, including Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Those that did not make landfall would still have had a tremendous impact on coastal areas in the form of strong winds and storm surge flooding. Hurricanes pose a deadly hazard that affects millions of people in Middle America.