Hurricanes are among the most powerful natural events on Earth, and they can cause tremendous damage to coastal cities and towns. They can also sweep huge amounts of beach sand and large boulders from place to place, and they often cause storm surge flooding that can inundate homes and neighborhoods.
Each year, on average, 10 tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico; about six of those become hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). Powered by heat in the upper layers of the ocean, and steered by the gulfstream, and steering wind currents, these massive storms have intense winds that churn up surface waters and fuel their strength.
They have a central low-pressure area with an eye, and sustained surface winds of at least 74 miles per hour. They’re called hurricanes in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico; typhoons in the western Pacific; or cyclones in the Indian Ocean. Scientists refer to all these as tropical cyclones, but the name depends on where they occur.
Before, during, and after a hurricane, meteorologists gather detailed data about the storm’s location, speed, direction, size, and intensity using specialized aircraft, satellites, weather surveillance radar from above the ocean, and scientific devices that float in the water and collect air and sea temperature, wind speed, and other information. This allows scientists to predict the path of the storm and its potential effects on land.
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