A hurricane is a large storm with winds and rain that blow over 75 mph.  Hurricanes are formed when warm air, heated by the sun, rises.  This, in turn, creates very low pressure.  As it rises, it creates big thunderclouds.  Cool air tries to fill the space left by the warm air rising, but with the Earth constantly spinning on its axis, the cool air is pushed inward.  The cool air starts spinning faster and faster; creating a huge circle that can be 1,200 miles across.  If the ocean water in a hurricane's path is warm, and continues to get warmer, the hurricane will get bigger and stronger.  Once a hurricane begins, there is absolutely no stopping it.  For a hurricane to form, the water surface has to be at least 78º Fahrenheit.  Hurricanes usually occur during late summer, when temperatures are the warmest. When warm air rises and forms into clouds, it gives out masses of heat, which usually creates tropical storms.  The beginning of most Atlantic storms starts with a band of low pressure moving westward.  The band of low pressure usually starts out as an African rainstorm, but soon becomes a hurricane.  At the center of the hurricane is the eye. The eye is a part of the storm where everything is silent.  The strongest winds and rains are located 12-18 miles from the eye. Winds around the eye can grow up to 125 mph.  A hurricane will continue to move along as long as it is being fed by warm water. A fully-grown hurricane can pump out about two billion tons of air per second.  The average hurricane travels at the speed of 10-30 mph.  When a hurricane hits an area of cool water, or land, it enters a cold climate, where its supply of warm, moist air is cut off.  The eye quickly disappears, and the storm dies.  The damage that a hurricane does is not on the ocean, but on land.  At least 90% of the people whose towns were damaged by a hurricane say that when the hurricane hit, it not only brought strong gusts of wind and rain, but brought big, strong waves, as well.  Today, damage by hurricanes costs billions of dollars.  In the last 100 years, 23 hurricanes have hit land, causing at least one billion dollars in damage.  In 1992, when hurricane Andrew hit south Florida and Louisiana, it caused more than 25 billion dollars in damage.  If it had hit Miami, it would have caused even more.  There have been thousands of deaths from hurricanes.  Luckily, that number is beginning to decrease since hurricane Andrew.  Nevertheless, even though many people have been rescued, many properties have been demolished.  More property is being ruined because of growing populations along the coast.  Hurricanes cannot be controlled, but deaths can be reduced through preparedness. In 1938, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever, swept through Long Island and killed 600 people.  Harsh winds and rain ripped across the coast, turning cars over, ripping houses from their foundation, ripping trees from the ground and sending them flying through the air.  

No one knows when the naming of hurricanes began.  It used to be that only the biggest and fiercest hurricanes were named. Some scientists say that the first person who named a hurricane was an Australian scientist, Clement Wragge.  They say that he named the strong ones after his friends, and the weak ones after his enemies.  The way that we name hurricanes now began in 1941.  The novel, Storms, by George Stewart probably inspired it.  In this book, they named hurricanes after their girlfriends and statues.  Naming hurricanes girls’ names was established in 1953.  In 1979, male names were alternated with female names. The first hurricane of the season has a name beginning with the letter A, the next one B, the next with C, and so on.  For example, if the first name is Arthur, the second could be Beth, and the third Charles.  There are not very many names that begin with Q, U, X, Y, Z.  Those letters are not used to name the hurricanes in the Atlantic and western Pacific Oceans.  Letters past O aren't usually needed, anyway, because there are not usually that many hurricanes in a year.

If you live on or near the coast, you will probably be asked by officials to evacuate the area when a hurricane watch is in effect.  If you receive the message to evacuate, do not think twice about doing it; go on and do it.  Otherwise, even if you survive the hurricane, you might find yourself sitting around for weeks without running water or electricity.  If you live near the coast, and you are in a position to ride out the hurricane, you need to make sure that you have plenty of gas in your car.  Do not count on buying gas after the warning has been announced, because the lines will be backed up so far that you will not be able to get gas. You also need to stock up on emergency supplies, such as medicines and first aid kits, as well as canned goods, just in case you are stuck in your house for awhile.  Put fresh batteries in your flashlights in case the lights go out.  Also, put batteries in your radios, so you can listen to emergency warnings.  You should board up windows to avoid broken or shattering glass.  When the storm is ready to hit, make sure every family member and pet is accounted for.  Do not let anybody go out in the storm.  Fill up the bathtub with water so you have a good supply of water. Move all family valuables to the side of your house where the debris cannot reach them.  When the storm is over, life can start getting back to normal.  If you had to evacuate, go back home.  Be careful to avoid downed phone lines and debris.  If you get back home and there is a problem, report it immediately.  Damage done by a hurricane can take months, or even years, to clean up, and to repair houses, downed phone lines, and destroyed roads.

Scientists all around the world are trying to improve hurricane warning systems.  But even so, hurricanes can still take you by surprise.  If a hurricane shifts, and you plan to evacuate, it might not be possible to leave, because the hurricane might block your escape route.  If you cannot evacuate, there are special steel underground shelters that have food, and will provide shelter until the storm has passed.  In Bangladesh, they have 63 shelters.  Each of them holds up to 1,500 people.

Even though countries in Northern Europe have a fairly cool climate, they have been hit by hurricanes for many years.  Some think that global warming has something to do with it.  As the planet becomes warmer, there are parts of the world that are becoming ripe for tropical storms.  Sending gasses into our atmosphere is not solving the problem; it is making it worse.