Hurricanes!! By Sarah Johnson Mr. Shepard’s 2 nd block

What Is A Hurricane? A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone With a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. It is an intense tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms and a well defined Surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph and higher!

What Conditions Cause a Hurricane to Happen? The ingredients for a hurricane to happen are a pre-existing weather disturbance, tropical warm oceans, moisture, and a relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods we associate with this phenomenon.

How Long Does A Hurricane Typically Last? During their life span Hurricanes can last up to two weeks over the ocean. Over the ocean they can travel up the entire Atlantic Coast. But as the reach land they quickly weaken.

When Does A Hurricane Happen? Hurricanes are generally a summer phenomenon. The length of the Hurricane season varies in each basin, as does the peak activity. Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1 and ends November 30 its “peak” is around September 10. Most tropical storms/hurricanes form between August 15 to October 15. Hurricanes occur year-round in Western North Pacific, with longer active regime lasting form July to November peaking somewhere around September1.

Is A Hurricane Dangerous To People? Yes. Depending on the categories of the hurricane it varies in the destruction of the property and people. There are five categories in the Saffir-Simpson scale 1 the weakest but still causes a good amount of destruction! 5 being the worst in destruction. A cateorgie 5 is devastating to people and places and things!

What Kind of Damage Does A Hurricane Cause? Hurricanes do cause damage with the different categories caused by the amount of damage they do. Categories 1 damage can be some damage to trees, shrubbery, and unanchored mobile homes Categories 5 cause devastation such as extensive damage to homes and industrial buildings; blow away small buildings; lower floors of structures within 500 meters of shore and less than 15 ft above sea level are damaged. And everywhere in between with categories 2, 3, and 4. To tell you about damage Hurricane Katrina was a categories 4 with the damage it caused, if that tells you anything!!! The average cost of damage in mainland United States is $4,900,000,000!!!!

Hurricanes! Did You Know?... -FUN FACTS!!!!!!! ABOUT HURRICANES DID YOU KNOW? Did You Know?: That Hurricane Andrew cost about 35.6 billion dollars in damages, killed 61 people and destroyed more than 125,000 homes. Andrew was a category 5 hurricane. Did You Know?: In 1935 that the Labor Day Hurricane is now considered "the most powerful hurricane ever to strike the U.S. coastline." This was a category 5 hurricane and had winds over 200 mph and the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded. 423 people died. Did You Know?: That Hurricanes can generate inland flooding, and storm surges up to 40 kilometers high!

Credits landhttp://hurricanes.noaa.gov/pdf/hurricanebook.pdf phttp://weather.thefuntimesguide.com/2009/10/hurricane_categories.ph p images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/07/04/hu1.jpg