Because of their massive size, only modern technology has allowed scientists to get a grasp on how hurricanes form and how they move. The huge waves that hurricanes push toward land are called a "storm surge." Storm surges are extremely dangerous and often cause major flooding in coastal regions.Įven though hurricanes have existed for thousands of years, scientists have only studied them for about the last 100 years. Heavy rain, strong winds and huge waves have been known to cause catastrophic damage to buildings, trees and cars. Their most destructive effects occur, however, when they reach land. Even though the winds of a hurricane may be raging at its farthest reaches, the “eye" has only light winds and fair weather.Īt sea, hurricanes present a real danger to boats. Hurricane winds rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around a calm center, known as the “eye" of the hurricane. As warm seawater evaporates, it feeds the hurricane's growing winds. As their winds blow in the same direction at the same speed, hurricanes gather heat and energy from warm ocean waters. Hurricanes only form over very warm ocean water (80° F or warmer). In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and Australia, these storms are called "cyclones." They're all the same type of storm, though. Hurricanes occur in many parts of the world, but they're not always called "hurricanes." For those of you who like words, you may be interested to know that hurricanes that form in the western Pacific Ocean are called "typhoons." These storms usually occur in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico or the eastern Pacific Ocean. They usually travel slowly at speeds of only 10 to 20 miles per hour as they cross the oceans. Unlike tornadoes, which usually last just a few minutes or less, hurricanes can last longer than a week. Hurricanes are defined by their extremely strong winds that can blow from 75 to 200 miles per hour. Hurricanes are huge tropical storms that can sometimes be as large as 600 miles across. Each year, as the summer comes to a close, hurricanes begin to appear.
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