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Hurricanes are a type of storm that forms over the
tropical regions of the world’s oceans. By definition, a hurricane is
a storm that has a wind speed greater than 118 kilometers per hour (74
miles per hour). The Sun beats down on the ocean waters day after day
and the air above this water gets hot. Cold air moving in from many
directions, pushes this hot air straight up until the hot air reaches a
cool layer of air. The water vapor condenses very suddenly and becomes a
driving rain. Cooler air from the outside moves in, in a whirling
motion, like water going down a drain. The center or "eye" of
the hurricane is calm, but all around it the winds and rain are swirling
The term hurricane is only used in North and
Central America. It comes from the word Huracan, the Caribbean
name for the god of evil. Hurricanes have different names in other part
of the world. In Asia, they are called typhoons. In the Southern
Hemisphere, they are called tropical cyclones.
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