With the beginning of June, the northern Atlantic is officially in hurricane season. Tens of millions of people along the East , and in Central America and the Caribbean are at risk from these monster storms annually. Let's have a look at where they come from.
Hurricanes begin as a low pressure system that gains strength from warm ocean water in or near the tropics. The air moving in to the low pressure area rises, cools, and condenses into clouds. The low pressure continues to draw in more air, and the system begins spinning and forms an eye.
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| Hurricane formation (NASA) |
Wind speeds increase as the storm grows. Despite winds that can exceed 150 miles per hour, most damage is caused by water. As the hurricane approaches land, the wind pushes the water ahead of it. This is called the storm surge. Once the hurricane makes landfall it rapidly loses strength without the warm ocean beneath it. As it moves along, it dumps tremendous amounts of rain, which can cause catastrophic flooding.
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| Where hurricanes form (NASA) |
Thanks to the miracle of satellite radar, we know well in advance of when and where hurricanes will strike. If you are in a hurricane area and are earned to evacuate, please do. Information came from
NASA this week.
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