A hurricane is easily the most powerful storm that mother nature can throw at us. Every year people who live on the coasts fight hurricanes. Hurricanes are simply too strong, and their winds reach speeds of at least 75 mph. The winds around the eye wall can reach speeds of 130 to 150 mph. They are generally 200 to 300 miles in diameter. The number of casualties is endless, as well as the widespread destruction that takes millions, if not billions, of dollars to repair. Even if the hurricane doesn't cause a lot of damage, the storm surge will. Storm surge is the great tidal waves that crash onto our coasts and make huge floods that are caused by hurricanes.
Hurricanes are extremely large areas of low pressure that are over the ocean in either the North Atlantic Ocean, or the eastern North Pacific Ocean. If a hurricane is in the western Pacific Ocean then it is called a typhoon, one in the Indian Ocean is called a cyclone. The danger region of a hurricane is normally in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane season is the six-month time period from June to November. The peak month of hurricanes is September. Hurricanes naturally form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure, which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph. .
The National Weather Service is constantly trying to provide us with data and other information about when and where hurricanes are forming. It has been said that the only way to reduce the number of fatalities in serious storms is to give people more warning time for them to go to a safer place.
