Snow and other North America Warning Or Danger Tips

Traveling in North America during mid-winter? Then one of the biggest dangers to watch out for during that time is snow (unless, of course, you happen to be skiing). The most snow on the continent falls on places like the Cascades, Alaska, and the Rockies, but some cities in the country will also get large amounts of snow annually, including: Toronto, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and Buffalo. Any mountainous area in the country is suspectible to snow. While the snow may be good news for many ski slopes, it's bad new for drivers, since snow can turn roads slick and dangerous.

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If you're traveling in southeastern North America between June and November, you have a good chance of running into a hurricane. Hurricanes form in the Atlantic near Africa and move northwestward, usually running into many of the islands of the Carribean and eventually hitting North America. A few commonly hurricane-plagued areas include Cancun, in Mexico, New Orleans, in Louisiana, the state of Florida, and North Carolina's Outer Banks. Hurricanes and tropical storms are named alphabetically and then convert to the letters of the Greek alphabet after running out of names. 2005 was a record hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin, with over 27 named storms.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are immensely dangerous and should not be taken lightly. The storms, which are often hundreds of miles wide, bring strong winds (sometimes up to 165 mph) and heavy rains, which will often cause flooding and mudslides. In the 2005 hurricane season, three hurricanes, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, caused extensive damage across the southeastern part of the continent. Wilma was the strongest hurricane on record for the Atlantic basin.

Fredericksburg (where I live) is usually spared during most hurricane seasons, though in 2003, Hurricane Isabel ripped through Virginia and caused some damage. What amazes me is that Isabel was very scary but was only a category 1 hurricane when it passed through Fredericksburg, as compared to the category 4 hurricane that Katrina was.

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