What is a Hurricane?
According to dictionary.com, a hurricane is a brutal tropical cyclone having winds greater than 64 knots (74 miles per hour; 119 kilometers per hour), originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.
In general, hurricanes are intense low pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters in the summer and early fall. The source for energy for a hurricane is the water vapor that evaporates from the warm ocean surface. This water vapor acts as a fuel for the hurricane as it releases the "latent heat of condensation," when it forms clouds and rain, warming the surrounding air.
As the hurricane begins to develop, this heat builds up, causing low pressure to form. The low pressure causes wind to begin to spiral inward toward the center of the low. These winds accelerate the evaporation process from the ocean, causing more wind intensity to spiral inward toward the center, feeding more showers and thunderstorms, and further warming the upper atmosphere. This is when the hurricane is completely developed, and has turned into a severe tropical cyclone.
The showers and thunderstorms, where all of this energy is released, are usually organized into bands such as “rainbands” or “feeder bands”, as well as into an “eyewall” encircling the center of the storm.
The eyewall is where the strongest winds occur, which encircle the warmest air, in the eye of the hurricane. This warmth in the eye is produced by sinking air, which sinks in response to rising air in the thunderstorms.
One of the costliest and deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States was Hurricane Katrina. This hurricane formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 causing severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. The worst damage in terms of loss of life and property was seen in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Some of the other major hurricanes that have hit the United States are Hurricane Gordon (1994), Hurricane Andrew (1992), Hurricane Hugo (1989), Hurricane Gilbert (1988), and Hurricane Camille (1969).
