Forces of Nature , Hurricane Facts , What It Takes”¦

Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, an increasing amount of people have gained an interest in this powerful force of nature that has always been around causing destruction. We learn that this volatile occurrence was first referred to in the Caribbean Taino Amerindian language that later became part of the Spanish lexicon. A hurricane is mostly used to denote a tropical cyclone. Often times, you will encounter the term being used for cyclones that take place in the Atlantic and the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean.  

In this article, you will find a collection of facts associated with the entity that the Spanish called ‘huracan’ , a reference to evil spirits or weather gods that were responsible for sinking their ships that traveled about the Caribbean. In our day, a hurricane is one of the three main instances that attack the world with a rotating tropical storm with winds that reach up to 74 miles per hour.

Storms of this magnitude are called hurricanes when they develop over the Atlantic or eastern Pacific Ocean. However, when they form over the Bay of Bengal or the northern part of the Indian Ocean, they are called cyclones. Storms that originate in the western stretch of the Pacific are named typhoons.

Other facts include:

In order for a hurricane to form, the weather conditions have to develop at the right level for one to occur. Each year, close to 100 tropical eruptions take place, but less than 10% of them actually go beyond the typical thunderstorm.

The majority of hurricanes that take place in the Atlantic Ocean develop close to the Cape Verde Islands (off of the west coast of Africa). This is point of the globe where Northern and Southern Hemisphere trade winds join up to cause the tropical disturbances we encounter about the world.

It is the warm waters found about the world that take energy to grow into the tropical depressions that are marked by an organized system of thunderstorms and wind speeds that reach speeds around 38 miles an hour.

As a depression travels across an ocean , its energy increases. When low-pressure centers rage on, the winds can move at speeds of more than 39 miles an hour. This is when the depression is referred to as a tropical storm. This is the point of its development that it receives its own name.

Once the winds of a storm reach a constant speed of at least 74 miles (the equivalent of 119 kilometers) an hour , it is officially deemed a hurricane.

The rotation of the Earth plays a role in the direction of a hurricane. You can always count on the direction of a storm’s winds to travel counterclockwise if it is in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise when it is in the Southern Hemisphere.