What's the difference between a hurricane and a "superstorm"?

[KamaAina]

Could it have anything to with the billion$$$ of insurance claims coming out of this??

[Avalux]

1. A hurricane is a superstorm.

Hurricane is a term for a specific type of intense rotating oceanic storm that usually forms in the tropics. Superstorm is a general term.

[maxsolomon]

2. I think Sandy just barely fell below the Hurricane threshold of Category 1.

And was technically a Tropical Storm. Except it was Extra-tropical by the time it hit.

"Superstorm" is made-up, because saying Tropical Storm Sandy doesn't quite describe it.

[onenote]

3. Superstorm is a non-scientific term. Hurricane has a meteorological definition

And no, I don't think it has anything to do with insurance claims.
Sandy was a tropical cyclone. It started out, as is typical, as a tropical depression. Then it strengthened to become a tropical storm. Then it strengthened to become a hurricane. Then it lost some of the defining characteristics of a hurricane and met up with other weather fronts, which caused it to lose the characteristics that defined it as a tropical cyclone and it became a subtropical cyclone -- another meteorological term used for storms with certain defined parameters.

Superstorm is a name attached to it as non-scientific reference to reflect that it was a big storm fed by multiple weather systems.

[Bandit]

4. I think a lot depends upon the area encompassed

While Sandy began as a hurricane, sustained winds over 75 mph, it ended as a Storm but because of how extremely large it was in the area it covered, they called it a "super storm" Storm is 45 mph-75 mph hurricanes are more than 75 mph

[immoderate]

5. Winds must be above 74 mph for a storm to be a hurricane.

Sandy was below that when it came onshore. The "super" designation AFAIK, is not official, but took into account its size, convergence with other weather systems, and the higher high tides caused by the full moon. It's called a spring tide.

--imm

[Peepsite]

6. You can buy hurricane insurance, but not superstorm insurance.

[onenote]

7. Actually people frequently buy "windstorm" insurance.

and/or flood insurance to protect against the type of damage that occurs in a hurricane. Depending on the terms of your policy, it may not matter whether or not the winds were generated by a storm that was at hurricane strength when it hit your property or at any other time. Similarly, flood protection isn't necessarily limited from storms that were at or at some time reached hurricane strength. Flood protection can apply to flooding from heavy rains that are not associated with hurricanes. It depends on the terms of the policy.

Florida is a little different in that by law the state requires hurricane insurance and defines the triggering event for certain types of "hurricane insurance" as damage resulting from the time a hurricane watch or warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for any part of Florida, up to 72 hours after a watch or warning ends.

But in many instances, if you buy windstorm and/or flood insurance, you effectively have bought "superstorm" insurance. Moreover, depending on where you live and the terms of your policy, damage from lesser wind events may be covered by your regular homeowner's insurance. In any event, anyone that had hurricane insurance likely would be covered by the damage from Sandy since it was, in fact, classified by the NHC as a hurricane.

[johnwoods]

8. Difference between hurricane and superstorm!!

Last edited Mon Sep 2, 2013, 12:33 AM - Edit history (1)

Hurricanes are organized windstorms, usually with a defined eye and a characteristic rotational pattern. A strong storm need not have this pattern, and severe thunder- or rainstorms often cluster in straight or crescent-shaped bands. public adjuster boca raton

[TeamPooka]

9. welcome to DU!