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A hurricane is called a very strong wind, the speed of which exceeds 120 km / h. If it increases to 180 km / h, then the hurricane is considered very strong.
Such a riot of elements can cause large-scale destruction and lead to a huge number of victims. It is impossible to fight this natural phenomenon, but people have learned to predict the appearance of a hurricane and track their trajectory.
Of course, not every hurricane leads to a large-scale disaster and devastation, some of them fall on deserted territories or disappear into the ocean, but, one way or another, this natural disaster is very dangerous. Here are 10 interesting facts about hurricanes.
10 WHERE Hurricane Happens
Hurricanes are tropical and have nothing to do with the tropics. The first arise, as can be understood from their name, over the territory of the tropics.
Tropical cyclones that originate over the Pacific Ocean are also called typhoons. They are accompanied by an area of low pressure.
Hurricanes that originate over the Atlantic Ocean are often referred to simply as cyclones.
Non-tropical hurricanes can appear in other parts of the Earth.
9. HOW hurricanes appear
The atmosphere of our planet in many ways resembles the ocean, only instead of water, air masses circulate there. Under the influence of solar energy, the relief of the Earth and the rhythm of the planet’s rotation, zones of “heterogeneity” appear in the atmosphere.
Areas of low pressure are called cyclones, and areas of high pressure are called anticyclones. It is in cyclones that strong winds occur. The most powerful of them can reach several thousand kilometers in diameter and be clearly visible from space.
By their nature, they are vortices, where air circulates in a spiral from the edges to the center, just in the area of low pressure.
8. How do hurricanes work?
Rising up and forming a wind, warm air does not rise along a clear vertical line, but has a small angle of deviation in the direction of the planet’s rotation.
When the wind speed increases, the hurricane takes the form of a rotating spiral. At the same time, there is no wind at all in the “core” of this spiral.
A hurricane that has arisen over the ocean not only moves in a spiral, but also goes towards the land, and this is due to the fact that it is “attracted” by cold air masses that are above the land.
Gradually lowering the temperature, hurricanes disappear, having managed to cause a lot of damage to coastal areas before that.
7. Most destructive hurricane
Tropical Cyclone Katrina is considered the most destructive hurricane in the world. The total amount of losses from his invasion amounted to about 100 billion dollars.
6. deadliest hurricane
The leading position in the list of the deadliest hurricanes in history is occupied by the tropical cyclone Bhola, which covered Bangladesh in 1970.
This cataclysm triggered a flood that subsequently caused the death of more than half a million people and over a million buffalo, goats and other cattle.
5. Tornado or tornado
In English and Spanish, the term “tornado” means “spinner”.
So in the states located on the American continent, including the USA, it is customary to call a tornado.
In Asia, such a natural phenomenon is called a typhoon.
4. “Eye of the Storm”
The so-called “eye of the storm” is a zone of clearing and relatively calm weather in the center of a tropical cyclone.
On average, the “eye of the storm” has a diameter of 20-30 km, rarely – 60 km. In this zone, the air has a higher temperature and lower humidity, in comparison with the surrounding area of dominance of winds.
This unique natural phenomenon sometimes amazes scientists with the peculiarities of its “behavior”. When the “eye of the storm” is well defined, precipitation stops abruptly at its border, the sky becomes clear, and the wind weakens significantly.
The danger of such a phenomenon lies in the fact that this apparent “calm” can mislead people who got there from the disaster zone. Believing that the worst is over, some hurricane victims neglect to take precautions. However, such carelessness is usually very costly.
The shape of the “eye of the storm” can constantly change. At times, even a double “eye of the storm” is recorded by meteorologists.
3. Meeting of several hurricanes
Different hurricanes will never be able to connect with each other, but they can be in close proximity. In meteorology, this phenomenon is called the Fujiwara effect.
2. Hurricane power scale
Not many people know that forecasters use the special Saffir Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale to determine the strength of an observed hurricane.
Such an assessment helps to determine the possible threat from a particular cyclone, and to warn people who live in the zone where, judging by the direction of movement, the next hurricane “goes”.
It was developed in the early 1970s. It has been widely used since 1973. The figures are based on wind speed and include an estimate of storm waves in each of the 5 categories.
1. Names of hurricanes
Meteorologists first began naming hurricanes in the XNUMXth century. The author of this idea was Clement Rugge, an employee of the Australian Meteorological Service. He called the most powerful storms the names of people whom he could not stand.
During World War II, American military meteorologists in the United States gave Caribbean hurricanes the names of their wives and mother-in-laws, which implies that these women, immortalized in history in such a dubious way, were not the most simple characters.
And only after 1945 in the United States developed a special list, which consisted of female names in alphabetical order. At first, only female names were included in this list.
And only in 1979, the extended list also included male names, which it was decided to add in order not to sharpen the gender issue in the United States.
In 1953, the World Meteorological Organization’s international naming system for hurricanes was officially approved.