1. Cyclonic Storm Vocabulary
Category—in weather, a term that describes the strength of a hurricane: Category 1 (lowest strength) to Category 5 (greatest strength).
Track—the path of a storm.
Hurricane—a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or greater that occurs especially in the Western Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning.
Tropical Depression—a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of less than 39 mph. Tropical depressions are listed by number and not by name.
Tropical Storm—a tropical cyclone with less than hurricane force winds; a storm in which the surface wind speeds range from mph
Storm Surge —a massive wave of water that sweeps onto land because of hurricane winds. The storm surge is often 50 miles wide. It is one of the most dangerous hazards for people living along the coast.

2. Cyclonic Storms

3. Tropical Storms
Tropical storms are large, rotating, low pressure storms
The strongest of these storms are known as hurricanes

4. Tropical Storms
Tropical storms form in a low pressure system when water evaporates off of warm, tropical waters
This creates a region of low pressure which attracts surrounding air
The rotation of the Earth (Coriolis Effect) causes the storm to begin spinning

6. Eye The eye of a hurricane is the center that is relatively calm
The eyewall is the band surrounding the eye that has the strongest winds

7. Classifying Hurricanes
The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale classifies hurricanes based on:
Wind speed
Air pressure
Potential for property damage

9. Hurricanes
Hurricanes will last until it can no longer produce enough energy to sustain itself
Usually happens when a hurricane moves over land

10. Hazards
Storm Surge-Occurs when hurricane force winds drive a mound of ocean water toward coastal areas
Can reach 6 meters above normal sea level

11. Hurricane Preparation
Hurricanes can be observed from weather satellites orbiting the Earth
Can improve hurricane warnings which can give people time to leave
During hurricanes you should:
Board up the house
Stay indoors
Have plenty of food and water
Stay away from windows

12. Galveston Hurricane September 8, 1900- Galveston, Texas Category 4
Greatest loss of life- 6,000-12,000 Deaths
3rd highest number of casualties out of any Atlantic Hurricane
Great Hurricane of 1780
Hurricane Mitch 1998

13. Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana. Category 3 Hurricane
1,836 Deaths, mostly resulted from the levee breaking
Deadliest US Hurricane since 1928