Hurricanes
There are all sorts of hurricanes, tropical hurricanes, cyclones, thunderstorms,
windstorms, etc. Tropical hurricanes form over the tropical oceans, usually 10 to 25 degrees
from the equator. Hurricanes also form best when there is little wind shear, or change in wind
height.
Hurricanes usually move across areas of warm water. Hurricanes are made by walls of
clouds… They are very powerful, but when a hurricane strikes a large area of land, they quickly
weaken. So if you live on a house boat among warm water, hurricanes are most likely to come
where you live.
Hurricanes occur in late summer or fall, mainly when there is warm weather.
Hurricanes are important because if you live on or near warm water, a hurricane is most
likely to take place near that area. It weakens when it hits land. Most hurricanes are less than a
half a mile (800meters) wide. The edge of one hurricane may destroy all of the houses on one
side of the street while leaving those on the other side fine.
A hurricane occurs when the conditions that cause tornados are unusually violent.
Winds blowing in opposite directions around a strong updraft start a narrow whirl.
Deaths from hurricanes in the United States averaged roughly 140 per year over the last
century.
Resources: Britannica- "tropical cyclone." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,
2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/106251>.
Creative commons- http://search.creativecommons.org/
Questions: 1. Why are hurricanes so destructive to homes? Cite text evidence from
both webpages to support your answer.
2. How do hurricanes occur? Cite text evidence from both webpages to support your answer.
3. What happens with the hurricane in the book Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen that relates to the
hurricanes on the two webpages?