The Scariest Place on Earth: Eye to Eye with Hurricanes

The author will get few arguments that the scariest place is directly in the path of an onrushing Category 5 hurricane. Fisher ( Fire and Ice ), chairman of the department of marine geology and geophysics at Florida's University of Miami, gives a lucid, detailed, scientific explanation of hurricanes--what they are, how they form and wreak havoc and how we might modify or avoid them. Interspersed is an account of his experiences during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Hurricanes occur only in the Atlantic Ocean (typhoons in the Pacific) and are characterized by counterclockwise rotation. Fisher notes that Army and Navy pilots who pioneered in tracking hurricanes laid the foundation for modern understanding of the storms. Examining forecasting and current research, he also observes an increasing potential for more frequent hurricanes. Illustrations. Author tour. (Aug.)