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Hurricanes.

Austin Dorenkamp Science Rough Draft

Life and Death of a Hurricane

Did you know that the heat energy produced by a hurricane is equivalent to the amount of power that the U. S. puts out in an entire year? Did you also know that hurricanes are named from a list of girl names that are reused every six years? Hurricane Dennis was an above average hurricane. Hurricane Dennis hit Cuba in July 2005 with wind speeds of 100 miles per hour and caused abound 17 inches of rain to fall. A hurricane starts when there is a tropical disturbance like a low pressure system. To form a hurricane, the water temp must be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat and moisture from the ocean creates thunderstorms. As the thunderstorm gets stronger, it turns into a tropical storm, and it pulls warm wet air from the ocean and spits out dry cold air into the upper atmosphere. As the core of the tropical storm warms, the air pressure drops. Because of the drop in air pressure, the intensity and wind speed of the winds swirling around the tropical storm increase. When the storm’s wind speed reaches 74 mph, the storm is called a hurricane. Some major factors that determine the size, location, intensity, and duration of a hurricane are; water temp, air temp, water vapor, wind speed, and time of year. Hurricanes tend to form over warm waters like the Atlantic Ocean or down in tropical areas like the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico. There are many parts to a hurricane. The eye of the hurricane is the center of the hurricane. It is a hole, and if you were on the ground below the eye, you would be able to see the sky. The eye of the hurricane is usually 20 miles wide and contains light winds and almost clear skies. A shrinking eye generally indicates that the hurricane is growing more powerful. The eye wall is about 15 miles wide and it circles the eye. It normally has the fiercest winds the heaviest rain fall. Spiral convection rings are around the eye wall and have showers and thunderstorms. The Rain Shield are the clouds that can be around the eye of the hurricane. They cause almost continuous rain below them that becomes heavier as it gets closer to the eye of the hurricane. There are many things that can cause a hurricane to die. One way is by strong winds tearing the clouds apart. Another way is when it moves over land away from a water source. A third way that a hurricane can die is if it moves over colder water or a drier area. Hurricanes can go on land but they will die after a few days if they aren’t by a large water source. The average life span of a hurricane is two to four weeks. The longest lasting hurricane was Hurricane John and it lasted 31 days. Hurricanes are one of the world’s most powerful natural forces. Hurricanes are more powerful than tornadoes. They both have clouds spinning around an eye, but hurricanes are normally much bigger. Hurricanes thrive over water, while tornados normally stay on land. Tornados have stronger winds and lightning, but hurricanes are bigger, have fast winds and create storm surges which can cause lots of flooding. A storm surge is a big gush of water that is brought to land by a hurricane or strong winds. Monsoons bring lots of rain to where they hit and can go far inland away from the ocean. Hurricanes have stronger winds and can bring storm surges which can cause lots of flooding, but they can’t go very far inland away from the ocean. Hurricanes can be very dangerous, but you can protect yourself from them. Find out if you are living in a hurricane prone area. If you are there are many things you can do. One of them is that you can move away from the path of the hurricane. If you don’t want to or can’t leave, then there are other things that you can do. You should have a disaster plan, board up windows or use hurricane shudders, bring stuff that could blow away indoors, have a supply kit with food, water, flashlights, and radio. You should also make sure that your car is full of gasoline and you should have so cash ready because banks and ATM machines may be closed. During a hurricane you should stay indoors, go to higher ground if you are in a low-lying area, and you should evacuate if the city officials tell you to. After a hurricane, you should go outside only if it is safe, you shouldn’t drink tap water until the city says that it is safe, and you should not try to drive through flood water because it may have a current or because it may be deep.