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Defining a Hurricane Essay

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Defining a Hurricane

A hurricane is a tropical storm that has winds of 74 miles per hour or more. The winds can sometimes reach up to 155 miles per hour. Another characteristic of hurricanes is their massive size that measures from 200 to 300 miles in diameter. In the center of each storm there is what is called the eye of the storm (Image to Right). The eye of the storm is usaually between 20-30 miles and is the calmest part of the storm. Winds here may only be 74 miles per hour. Some hurricanes can last for two weeks or more over open water and can run a path across the entire Eastern Seaboard.

Hurricanes that develop in the Northern Hemisphere rotate in a counterclockwise motion and in the …show more content…

Some hurricanes can even develop in the winter time, but that rarely happens, only three have been recorded since 1886.

Hurricanes are not only very violent storms but they are also very dangerous. The primary dangers of the storm are the rain/flooding, high winds, the occasional tornado, flying debris from buildings and nature (i.e. trees), and the storm surges . Storm surges can be between 50 to 100 miles high. These surges may be even more dangerous than any of the other hazards because they can wipe out an entire community near the ocean. Nine out of ten deaths are caused by such surges and annually 17 people die from hurricanes in the United States alone. The deadliest hurricane in United States history was at Galveston Island, called the Texas Storm of 1900. It was a Category 4 hurricane and there was more than 6,000 deaths occured with this storm.

Hurricane Andrew

Vitals: Hurricane Andrew cost the United States more than $25 billion dollars. Andrew also claimed 26 lives and left more than 250,000 people homeless. It lasted eleven days from August 16-27, 1992 and hit land in the Bahamas, southern Florida, and southcentral Louisiana. This particular hurricane originated off the West Coast of Africa in early August, 1992. On August 17, 1992 it became a tropical depression halfway between Africa and the eastern islands of the Carribean. Later on

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