There has not been much hurricane activity in the Atlantic for a while now, so unsurprisingly the reporting is starting to slip again. This post goes out to all you reporters at CNN and Reuters and Yahoo and everywhere else. Imma give you an example of what you are doing wrong, then I’ll send you to a place to learn up on it.

A recent report noted that “hurricane force winds are now bearing down on Bermuda, and the storm is expected to arrive within hours” meaning the eye would arrive within hours (paraphrased). This is not what is happening. When there is a hurricane arriving at your location, and the “hurricane force winds” start, that’s the hurricane. Not some other thing. The eye of the storm is one part of the storm. The rest of the storm is big and when you have hurricane force winds form that big circle thingie you see in the weather reports, that is the hurricane. For that matter, the lesser winds that arrive sooner, that’s the hurricane too. It’s a big thing, that hurricane. And the whole thing is the hurricane.

What does “Hurricane Landfall” mean?

But… but…. but what about when they say that word, what is is, “landfall,” isn’t that the EYE of the hurricane, so isn’t that the hurricane?

No. Read this: Hurricane Landfall: What it is and don’t be stupid about it.