Aim a Hurricane, page 9

The track map from the computer model predicts that, because the hurricane is starting out within the high pressure system's wind field, its eye will turn to the north sooner and it will pass over the island where the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located. This is just east of Cuba, which would also be affected by hurricane winds because a hurricane extends well beyond its eyewall. It then travels north through the Atlantic, missing Florida, brushing the coast of North Carolina, and making landfall near New York City. It crosses New York State and then heads into eastern Canada.

Map showing the hurricane track going near Cuba, then turning north, brushing the coast of North Carolina, continuing into New York State, and then into Canada description

From our two examples, you can understand how a fairly small change in the position of the lows and highs will change what coastal areas have to be evacuated. Also, different inland areas would experience the torrential rains that can accompany these storms. In the first example, the storm was predicted to travel over the entire central United States and parts of Canada, while in the second, it would affect areas primarily from New York and Pennsylvania through New England and Canada. This rain, and possibly flooding, would also be something that weather forecasters, emergency managers, and the general public would need to watch out for.