When people hear about storms or hurricanes they get rightly scared? Why? Because hurricanes are essentially one of nature's most powerful and damaging things.
Overall, the force and immensity of these storms and hurricanes can change and more often than not destroy a lot of things in the environment for people and life on the world. These storms or hurricanes are also known as cyclones or typhoons depending where you are located.
Hurricanes are known for their fierce winds, heavy rains, and dramatic storm surges. These types of storms and hurricanes are not just an everyday occurence.
The biggest question is what makes a hurricane come about? This post explains how hurricanes form, and more. More importantly, you understand why hurricanes are so powerful. Learn more about the changeable warm ocean waters that cause these storms. Hurricanes are a complex blend of meteorological power and mystery still after all these years. Let's learn these hurricane facts about these storms that will blow your mind!
1. Hurricanes need the right conditions to form and appear
Hurricanes do not just form out of nowhere as there needs to be the right conditions.
Overall, warm water is what causes everything to happen with hurricanes. In general, hurricanes have to draw up energy from the warm ocean water to come into fruition. The strength of hurricanes becomes stronger and more viable.
A hurricane forms over warm water and becomes bigger. to grow. Also, there is low air pressure that helps the process. Because of low pressure at its center, winds flow toward the center of the storm and air is forced upward. High in the atmosphere, winds flow away from the storm, which sustains the cycle of rising air from below.
In summary, a hurricane requires the winds outside the storm to be light overall. These winds steer the storm but are not strong enough to disrupt it. The key is that hurricanes need to form with warm water. In general, Hurricanes will form and push together over warm ocean waters. And finally, the storms or hurricanes will occur commonly when the water temperature is at least 80°F or in celsius at 27 degrees.
A hurricane may not form if one element is not present to create the perfect recipe for a storm. So, wind, air, water temperatures are happening at the same time in conjunction.
2. The Energy of Hurricanes is so great it could power Las Vegas
The power and force of hurricanes is well known. Why? Hurricanes are some of the most intense and destructive forces on the globe. The three factors that create a hurricane are vast and can summon electricity if possible.
The potential is that hurricanes can release a massive amount of energy mainly generated by the winds. How exactly? For instance, a common fully matured hurricane can produce numbers of 1.5 x 10/12 Watts or 1.3 x 10/17 Joules per day on average. All in all, this is roughly the same as about half of the complete electrical generating capacity on earth! And this is just for one hurricane!
Therefore, in essence, Hurricanes are able to produce more than enough energy in a single day to run the lights of Las Vegas. And not just for a day or two but the hurricane could power a city of lights like Las Vegas for many years.
So, the amount of energy released via the formation of clouds is immense. You will see it takes energy to evaporate lots of water. For example, an average hurricane creates rain (water) and wind energy. Overall, you get a massive amount of energy to power many things like electricity.
3. Hurricanes are calm in the center of the storm.
There is an expression discussing being calm in the middle of a storm. Well, this is true. The weather in the eye of a hurricane is more often than not calm.This is a theory on hurricanes that may shock a lot of people about the nature of storms.
Scientifically, the center of the eye of a storm will be the calmest. Within the storm, you will notice that the skies are mostly clear of clouds, wind and even rain.
The more dangerous parts of the storm are over the ocean. The waves may slam into each other producing massive waves as tall as 150 feet or so overall! It is shocking. .
In the eye or center of a mature or bigger hurricane, air tends to sink rather than rise overall. When a storm gathers strength it draws from the edges of the storms and the area it is affecting.
Therefore, the air may very well sink over a layer or stream deep enough to hold back cloud formations.
Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds,but still dangerous as the storm surges and moves. Overall, the size of the eye can be as big as 3 or so kilometers (2 miles) to over 290 kilometers (200 miles) but they are typically between 25-65 kilometers (20 – 40 miles).
4. The word Hurricane has Indigenous origins from the Caribbean
The etymological word origin of hurricane is fascinating and derives from the language of indigenous people of the Caribbean. The original is ““hurakán.” which had quite a significant cultural and spiritual meaning for the Taíno people of the Caribbean mainly Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Virgin Islands, and more.
Historians trace a lot of Taino history in Puerto Rico. The Taino word “hurakán,” that was used to symbolize the god of storms. In essence, the Taíno people had beliefs that the god Hurakán controlled the weather.
Moreover, believing that could bring about devastating storms and floods. The word “hurakán” therefore carried a significant cultural and spiritual meaning for the Taíno people, reflecting their understanding of the power of nature.
5. When a hurricanes develops it can then make a tornado
Hurricanes can produce tornadoes, which is fascinating and scary. However, it should be known that tornadoes can produce much faster winds than hurricanes overall.
It is to be clear that hurricanes and tornadoes are separate entities. Hurricanes can produce tornadoes that have an increasingly spinning tube shaped mass of air. Why? Because the hurricanes garner more power and then may hit or land both on the ground. Basically, in theory and practice, many of the hurricanes that make or hit landfall create and produce tornadoes.
The right conditions for tornadoes need to happen as that creates hurricanes but power and force are crucial. For example, Tornadoes form wherever these pre-existing supercells happen to be, he added, but meteorologists are still unable to predict exactly where tornadoes will strike.
In conclusion, a tornado does not last as long as a hurricane. Why? Because as it is moving several miles before wearing itself out completely. Overall though, a tornado can be quite destructive and harmful.
6. Typhoon Tip was the largest hurricane in recorded history
If there is a large and in particular very spectacular storm then it is remembered like Typhoon Tip. In the beginning, Typhoon Tip, known in some parts of the world as Super Typhoon Warling, was large and destructive.
Typhoon Tip was an extremely massive, very powerful, and extensive tropical hurricane or cyclone that was long-lasting. The storm moved from the Western Pacific for around 3 weeks in total. The extent of this storm shattered records because it was extremely big and covered a large area for such a long time.
The typhoon was so big it generated enough rainfall to initiate and start over 600 mudslides. The flooding was extensive as well, even causing havoc in the mountains of Japan. Typhoon Tip caused 27 destroyed bridges as well as significant destruction of homes. In general, the storm destroyed over 22,000 homes and over ten thousand were left homeless.
7. Naming Hurricanes is an organized with a known process
Naming hurricanes is a science and involves specific things to happen just like the formation of a hurricane itself. For example, when a storm is formed and the wind speed reaches around 39 – 40 miles an hour then the classifications begin. Thus, the storm becomes a tropical storm and is assigned a name.
Further along, the hurricane name is picked from a list of around 20 names. These names are issued by the World Meteorological Organization usually at the start of the hurricane season. The names can be variable but there is a rhyme to the reason. For instance, the names would most likely change between female and male names.
In terms of using names again or past storms, there are some changes. For example, there won’t be other storms named David, Katrina, Andrew, or Laura because those hurricanes were very tragic and destructive. The amount of damage and harm these storms caused created the stigma with these names and have been removed. Lastly in terms of hurricane names, you won’t see any hurricanes starting with the letters Q, U, X, Y, or Z. These letters are not commonly used overall.
8. These are specific Ways to survive a Hurricane
There are certain things you can do to make sure you are safe during a storm and especially a hurricane. How? The safest thing to do is to follow local instructions and leave the area, or evacuate, if officials say you should. Here are other tips for staying safe if a hurricane is headed your way.
When a hurricane is predicted in the forecast, you should really know the evacuation routes in your area or neighborhood. This is paramount for any situation that is an emergency, not just a hurricane. Make sure food, living, and any essentials for day to day life are met in case you are not able to shop or get access for several days or more.
If there are trees in your yard, then check your yard to see if any branches are broken. Alert someone immediately as these branches could be blown off or break off and go through a window especially during a hurricane. Furthermore, make sure to remove anything around your home that could blow away. Lastly, it is imperative to close all your windows, storm shutters, blinds, curtains, and more.
9. Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the United States
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest of all the tropical hurricanes in the United States. Katrina affected the Gulf Coast in August 2005. Overall, this storm was the third strongest hurricane in the USA. When you encounter storms that turn into hurricanes in the ocean it is horrible. You will encounter dangerous and perhaps lethal waves from all directions.
Katrina as a storm had wind speeds that reached a maximum of 175 mph. Moreover, Katrina tragically killed a total of 1,833 people and left millions homeless. Katrina as a storm greatly affected New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Some other facts, amazingly around 85 percent of New Orleans’ residents were able to evacuate. However, Katrina still had about 100,000 people trapped in the city when it happened.
According to the Library of Congress, the origin of the word with the Tainos has been supported. In summary, many agree that the word “hurakán” represents the evil spirit of the wind for the Taíno people.
10. Hurricane Season is very specific overall on the calendar
Overall, Hurricane season runs in general from June 1 through November 30 every year. Historically, Hurricane forecasts are issued twice during the year. They are initially put forward in April or May in advance of the June season start for hurricanes.
The hurricane season is updated in August of every year because September is the peak of hurricane season.Although Hurricane Season starts on June 1 and ends November 30, you can have hurricanes occur at any time of the year. Furthermore, the National Hurricane Center is able to track bigger storm systems, which usually occur around 12 times a year in the Atlantic basin.
Overall the season corresponds to when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most typically to form in the North Atlantic.
