The Formation of Hurricanes

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The Formation of Hurricanes

Hurricanes begin as tropical storms over the warm moist waters of the

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near the equator. (Near the Philippines

and the China Sea, hurricanes are called typhoons.) As the moisture

evaporates it rises until enormous amounts of heated moist air are

twisted high in the atmosphere. The winds begin to circle

counterclockwise north of the equator or clockwise south of the

equator. The relatively peaceful center of the hurricane is called the

eye. Around this center winds move at speeds between 74 and 200 miles

per hour. As long as the hurricane remains over waters of 79F or

warmer, it continues to pull moisture from the surface and grow in

size and force. When a hurricane crosses land or cooler waters, it

loses its source of power and its wind gradually slow until they are

no longer of hurricane force (less than 74 miles per hour.)

Hurricanes over the Atlantic often begin near Africa, drift west on

the Trade Winds, and veer north as they meet the winds coming eastward

across North America. Hurricanes over the Eastern Pacific begin in the

warm waters off the Central American and Mexican coasts. Eastern and

Central Pacific storms are called "hurricanes." Storms to the west of

the International Date Line are called "typhoons."

Because of the destructive force of hurricanes during late summer and

early autumn, scientists constantly monitor them with satellites and

sometimes even fly airplane surveillance to keep track of tropical

storms that might develop into hurricanes.

How are Hurricanes classified and what effects are used to do this?

Hurricanes are separated into 5 different...

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...ontserrat: Not affected.

Nevis & St. Kitts: Rain post-Jeanne.

Puerto Rico: Flooding, flight cancellations and power outages as a

result of Jeanne.

Saba: Not affected.

St. Barts: Not affected.

St. Eustatius: Not affected.

St. Lucia: Hotels and tourist facilities not affected.

St. Maarten/St. Martin: Not affected.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: No major damage to hotels and tourist

facilities, save for Union Island. The new Raffles Resort on Canouan

Island has been closed temporarily for cleanup and is to reopen by

Nov. 1.

Suriname: Not affected.

Trinidad and Tobago: No major damage to resorts reported.

Turks & Caicos: Water and wind from Hurricane Frances did mainly

cosmetic damage.

U.S. Virgin Islands: Heavy rain, airport closures and power outages as

a result of Jeanne.

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