Bermuda

GEOG essay: Bermuda

1) Bermuda is a set of islands located east of the United States with a latitude similar to Savannah, Georgia. Bermuda is, in fact, not a country but rather a British overseas territory, but many of its people refer to it as a country. Since Bermuda has mild winters, hot summers, is subtropical, and is relatively humid, it is best described by the Köppen Climate Classification as “Cfa”. The predominate classification of “C” describes a climate that is “Mesothermal”, which means it is humid with mild winters. The “f” describes fully humid climates with no dry season, and the “a” describes climates that are hot. There are a variety of factors that put Bermuda into this climate type. First of all, Bermuda is humid in large part because it is a series of small islands surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Secondly, the highest point in Bermuda is only 74m above sea level, so the effects of elevation on overall temperature are minimal, and since it is low in the atmosphere, it is warmer. Finally, the Bermuda Islands’ temperature stays even higher because of the warm Gulf Stream waters that pass nearby. As described by the “f” in the climate classification, Bermuda gets roughly 3 to 7 inches of precipitation each month and has no dry season.

* Sources: The World Factbook, Christopherson, Forbes

2) Tornadoes in Bermuda are rare, but not impossible. Tornadoes have hit the islands a handful of times in the past, and they almost always start out as a waterspout. Waterspouts are essentially tornadoes that are over water, and most commonly occur in the subtropics when it is warm. It may appear that Bermuda is an ideal place for tornadoes that originate as waterspouts, but it can be inferred that it is rare in large part because Bermuda’s total land area only measures 54 square kilometers (20.6 square miles). The last significant tornado to hit the Bermuda Islands was in 1986.

* Sources: The World Factbook, Associated Press, Glossary of...