What is a hurricane?A hurricane is a very destructive and

dangerous storm. It forms in stages.

The hurricanes are filled with rain,

strong winds, lightning, thunder, hail

and tornadoes. In these storms, when

the winds range from 35 to 54 miles an

hour, it is called a tropical depression.

When the winds are from 55 to 74

miles an hour then it is called a

tropical storm. When it reaches 75

miles an hour, it is called a hurricane.

Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise

in the northern hemisphere and

clockwise in the southern

hemisphere.

What is eye of a hurricane?

While some hurricanes, are

small, others can be quite

large. Hurricanes are mighty

storms.

In the center of a hurricane

is an eye. Ironically, the eye

is actually a calm area in a

hurricane.

How do hurricanes travel?Hurricanes have “paths” in which

they travel and move at different

speeds over water and land.

Once they hit land, they do slow

down and weaken. Warm water

“feeds” the hurricane and helps

them grow larger and stronger.

When hurricanes make “landfall”

they have entered land a certain

area. Due to the fact that they are

huge storms, the areas surrounding

landfall are also affected.

What’s in a name?

During World War II, they practiced using

women’s names for the storms. In 1951 the

United States adopted a plan to name

storms by a phonetic alphabet (Able,

Baker, Charlie), but found it confusing.

Hurricanes names are chosen from a list

selected by the World Meteorological

Organization. The Atlantic is assigned six

lists of names, with one list used each

year. Every sixth year, the first list begins

again. Each name on the list starts with a

different letter, for example, the name of

the very first hurricane of the season

starts with the letter A, the next starts with

the letter B, and so on. The letters "Q",

"U", "X", "Y" and "Z", however, are not

used. Often when an unusually destructive

hurricane hits, that hurricane's name is

retired and never used again.

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category Wind speed (mph) Storm surge (feet)

5 156 More than18

4 131–155 13–18

3 111–130 9–12

2 96–110 6–8

1 74–95 4–5

Additional classifications

Tropical storm 39–73 0–3

Tropical depression 0–38 0

How do they measure hurricanes?

Where have hurricanes made landfall in the United States?

• In the next few slides, you will

see the hurricanes which have

made “landfall” in the US.

Hurricanes have made landfall in

other countries as well. These

slides however show only US

Hurricanes.

• Note: These maps do not

include Tropical Storms or

Tropical Depressions, just

Hurricanes.)

• Can you find the hurricanes

which may have hit your state?

NOAA Map

1901-1920 US Hurricanes

NOAA Map

1921-1940 US Hurricanes

NOAA Map

1941-1960 US Hurricanes

NOAA Map

Hurricane Trivia: Deadliest Storm

• The Galveston Hurricane of 1900

made landfall on the city of

Galveston, Texas on September 8,

1900. It had estimated winds of

135 mph (215 km/h) at landfall,

making it a Category 4 storm on

the Saffir-Simpson HurricaneScale.

– Picture and information Source: Galveston Hurricane of 1900 -Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

During he 1900 Storm: Galveston,Texas, 6,000 people died and itdestroyed the city. See GalvestonPhotos.

Hurricane Trivia: Costliest Storm

Animated photo from CIMSS

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest

hurricane. The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $81.2 billion

Has technology changed hurricane situations?

Think about this. How do you think technology has changed Hurricane

awareness and safety? The map on the left is a map from Hurricane

Hilda in 1964. The map on the right is a map of Hurricane Rita in 2005.

If the technology now available had existed for the 1900 Galveston

Hurricane, could the outcome have been different? How? Why?

Explain your --write a paragraph about it.