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This photo is a view of Hurricane Dean as seen from the International Space Station

I guess this is something in Texas that will make this ‘Florida boy‘ feel at home when I move to Arlington next month!

It appears the attitude toward hurricanes in Texas is similar to many in Florida…

If the fierce storm appears to be bearing down on Texas Monday, they’ll be boarding up windows and fastening down roofs, preparing for the worst. But on Saturday, Lee and Courtwright were more interested in surfing.

I think that where we’ll be living, the threat from hurricanes will be significantly less than the threat in St. Pete where my parents live.

Interestingly, here in China they don’t have “Hurricanes”, they have “Typhoons.” What’s the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?

Aside from the name, not much. Both are severe tropical systems that have wind speeds greater than 74 mph.

They are called “hurricanes” in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. But once your go west across the International Dateline and into the western Pacific Ocean, they’re called typhoons. And of course, the Australians, who have colorful names for just about everything, have their own term for hurricanes: “willy-willys.”

Typhoons generally tend to be stronger than hurricanes, but only because there’s warmer water in the western Pacific and are better conditions for storm development.

Maybe one day I’ll live in Australia and can experience a “willy-willy” (can that really be true?) Then I can say that I’ve experienced all three…