Weather Facts About Hurricanes

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Weather Fact Sheet

- They are storms that form in very warm water in tropical climates. These weather systems are powerful spinning tropical storms and form in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Inidan Oceans.

- Storms spin differently in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In the Norhtern Hemisphere, the storms spin counterclockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere, the storms spin clockwise. The difference is due to the spin of the Earth's axis.

- In the Northern Hemisphere, we call them hurricanes. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are called cyclones and typhoons (primarily Asia)

- A tropical weather system can't form over land. They also weaken over land.

- The costliest hurricane to hit the US was Hurricane Andrew. It was one of the most memorable weather events of the 20th century.

- You will often see an "eye" in a hurricane which is the center of the storm and which can grow up to 20 miles across. The eye is very calm compared to the rest of the storm and is one of my favorite weather phenomenons to study and look at.

- The Atlantic Hurricane peak season ranges from August to October when weather is perfect for them to form

- While the wind of a hurricane can be very powerful, it also drives probably the most destructive element of it called storm surge. Hurricanes can push loads of water onshore.

- The costliest storm ever in the United States was Katrina (Category 3 when it came onshore) in 2005. The precious title was held by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

- Sometimes the name of a hurricane will be retired because of how destructive it was.

- Before a storm becomes a hurricane, it is called a tropical storm which means it has winds from 39-73 MPH. Once the storm passes 73 MPH, it is then called a hurricane.

- The deadliest hurricane was the Galveston hurricane in 1900 which killed 8,000 people.



Causes and Effects

Read about the many Hurricane Causes and Effects.

Weather Forecast Models

Find out which sites are the best for Hurricane Forecast Models.



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