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 rampage of the elements can cause massive destruction and lead to a huge number of victims. It is impossible to deal with this natural phenomenon, however, people have learned to predict the appearance of a hurricane and track the trajectory of their movement.
Of course, not every hurricane leads to widespread disaster and devastation, some of them crash into uninhabited territories or disappear into the ocean, but, one way or another, this natural cataclysm is very dangerous.
Introducing 10 Curious Hurricane Facts
10. WHERE HURRICANES ARE
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 originating over the Pacific Ocean are also called typhoons. They are accompanied by an area of reduced pressure.
Hurricanes that arise over the Atlantic Ocean are often called simply cyclones.
Non-tropical hurricanes can occur at other points on the Earth.
9. HOW hurricanes appear
The atmosphere of our planet is much like the ocean, only there instead of water air masses circulate. Under the influence of solar energy, the relief of the Earth and the rhythm of the planet’s rotation in the atmosphere, zones of “heterogeneity” arise.
Areas of reduced pressure are called cyclones, areas of high pressure are called anticyclones. It is in cyclones that strong winds arise. The most powerful of them can reach several thousand kilometers in diameter and be clearly distinguishable from space.
By their nature, they are vortices, where air circulates in a spiral from the edges to the center, just in the area with low pressure.
8. How hurricanes “work”
Rising up and forming the wind, warm air does not rise in a clear vertical, but has a small angle of deviation in the direction of rotation of the planet.
With increasing wind speed, a hurricane takes the form of a rotating spiral. Moreover, in the very “core” of this spiral, the wind is completely absent.
The hurricane that arose 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 the cold air masses that are above the land.
By gradually lowering the temperature, hurricanes disappear, having managed before this to cause much damage to the coastal areas.
7. The most devastating hurricane
The tropical cyclone of Katrina is considered the hurricane that caused the largest destruction in the world. The total loss from his invasion amounted to about $ 100 billion.
6. The deadliest hurricane
The leader position in the list of the deadliest hurricanes in history is taken by tropical cyclone Bhol, which in 1970 covered Bangladesh.
This cataclysm provoked a flood, which subsequently caused the death of more than half a million people and more than a million buffaloes, goats and other cattle.
5. Tornado or tornado
In English and Spanish, the term “tornado” means “rotation”.
So in states located on the American continent, including the United States, it is customary to call a tornado.
In Asia, such a natural phenomenon is commonly 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, air has a higher temperature and lower humidity, in comparison with the surrounding area of dominance of the winds.
This unique natural phenomenon sometimes strikes scientists with the peculiarities of its “behavior”. When the “eye of the storm” is well expressed, precipitation stops abruptly at its border, the sky becomes clear, and the wind is significantly weakening.
The danger of such a phenomenon lies in the fact that this apparent "calm" can mislead people who got there from the disaster zone. Assuming that the worst is over, some hurricane victims neglected precautions. However, such carelessness is usually very expensive.
The shape of the “eye of the storm” can be constantly changing. At times, even a double “eye of the storm” is recorded by meteorologists.
3. The 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 Intensity Scale of Saffir Simpson Herricane to determine the strength of the observed hurricane.
Such an assessment helps to identify a possible threat from a particular cyclone, and to warn people who live in an area where, judging by the direction of movement, another hurricane “goes”.
It was developed in the early 1970s of the last century. They began to use it everywhere only in 1973. The indicators are based on wind speed and include an assessment of storm waves in each of the 5 categories.
1. Names of hurricanes
Meteorologists first began giving names to hurricanes in the 19th century. The author of this idea was Clement Rugg, 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, US military meteorologists in the United States gave the Caribbean hurricanes the names of their wives and mother-in-law, which implies that these women, immortalized in history in such a dubious way, were not the easiest 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 expanded list also included male names, which it was decided to add so as not to aggravate the gender issue in the United States.
In 1953, the international hurricane name system created by the World Meteorological Organization was officially approved.