Hurricane Facts

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ART & DESIGN STORM & SUN PROTECTION

serving the whole State of Florida

 

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How strong is a hurricane?

 

 

The wind blows. The rain comes down. Hurricanes are powerful. They can rip a house apart. They can wipe out cities.

 

But how do they start? And how do you know how big it will be?

How can you tell how strong it is?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hurricanes form in water.

The orange parts show where they form.

 

Let's figure it out


Hurricanes start over the ocean. They need three things:

1. Warm water

2. Damp air

3. Winds that meet

 

When the wind blows at least 74 miles an hour, it is called a hurricane. That is very fast! It is faster than a car drives on a highway. Sometimes the winds blow faster than that.
A world map with purple continents and orange places in the blue waters near the equator

Parts of a Hurricane

 

There are three main parts of a hurricane:

 

1. The eye. This is the center. It is the calm part of the storm.

2. The wall. This part is around the eye and has the strongest winds and rains. The winds may blow 200 miles per hour.

3. The rain bands. These are the clouds that spin out and make the storm bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How strong is it?

 

Hurricanes can destroy what they hit. The winds can blow things down. The water can cover homes. The rains can cause floods. We can know how strong a hurricane is.

 

There is a scale that is used to measure them. It is called the "Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale". A hurricane can be on a scale of one to five. A level one does not destroy as much as a level five does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about hurricanes: Click on this link (NASA)

 

 

Credit for the information above goes to NASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download the specific Florida wind

borne debris sheet here (79kB)

(right click and save!)

 

 
Drawing of a hurricane that has been cut to see the inside. Inside is the eye which is a hole down the middle from top to bottom; the eye wall is around the eye; the rest are the rain bands.
Hurricane1
Hurricane2
Hurricane3
Hurricane4
Hurricane5

There are three main parts of a hurricane.

Category

Click on the picture to see

a movie (opens a new site)

 

 

One:

(Winds 74 to 95 mph)

 

There is not much damage

 

 

Two:

(Winds 96 to 110 mph)

 

The winds may break windows and destroy trees

 

 

 

Three:

(Winds 111 to 130 mph)

 

It breaks windows and doors

 

 

 

Four:

(Winds 131 to 155 mph)

 

There is much damage

 

 

Five:

(Winds >155 mph)

 

This is the worst; winds blow at least 155 mph. It destroys buildings.