SURFACE FRICTION IN A HURRICANE

Abstract

In an extension of earlier work by Johnson, it is found that the apparent friction of the wind over Lake Okee-chobee, Fla., in the 1949 hurricane is related to the speed by Fs=0.022V2 and Fn=0.020V2. Fs and Fn are the frictional accelerations in mi. hr.?2 tangential and normal to the wind, and V is the anemometer-level wind speed in m.p.h. Frictional accelerations over land are about three times the over-water values at the same wind speed. At a given storm radius the land and water tangential frictional accelerations are nearly equal.