What’s inside a hurricane?

 

What’s inside a hurricane?

Hurricanes are massive, swirling storms full of clouds, wind, and rain. Hurricanes form when thunderstorms meet over warm ocean waters. At the center of a hurricane is a calm area called the eye of the storm.

 

Icy clouds

Clouds overflow from the center to make a layer of thin, icy clouds on top. It moves in the opposite direction to the clouds underneath.

 

Ocean waters

Hurricanes occur where seas are at least 200 ft (60 m) deep and at least 80°F (27oC) warm.

 

Eye of the storm

The air in the center of a hurricane is completely calm.

 

Eye wall

The eye wall wraps around the eye of the storm. The strongest rain and winds are in the eye wall.

 

Spiral rain clouds

Warm air rises inside the hurricane, making huge circles around the center.

 

How do hurricanes affect us?

 

Damage

Hurricane winds are so strong they can blow down buildings and destroy electricity and water supplies. This can leave people without homes, schools, and places to go to work.

 

Flooding

Hurricane winds can create massive waves that flood towns on the coast. During a hurricane, a month’s worth of rain can fall in a few hours.

 

Quick quiz

1. Why don’t hurricanes form in polar regions?

2. What part of a hurricane has the worst weather?

3. What speed do winds need to reach for a storm to be called a hurricane?