How a hurricane arises. What is a hurricane: briefly about a terrible natural phenomenon. What is a hurricane
How is it different from a storm, typhoon, strong wind, tornado or tornado? Why are hurricanes so destructive? Is it possible to predict the birth of a hurricane and avoid a collision with it? Let's try to figure it out.
What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a very strong one whose speed exceeds 120 kilometers per hour. If it reaches 180 kilometers, then the hurricane is considered very strong. It can be tropical and have nothing to do with the tropics. The first are formed, as the name implies, over the tropics. Tropical cyclones that occur over the Pacific Ocean are often called typhoons. They are accompanied by an area of low pressure. Hurricanes that appear over the Atlantic are often simply called cyclones. Non-tropical hurricanes can occur in other places on the planet, but the reason for their appearance is the same: the difference in temperature and atmospheric pressure in different areas. The most dangerous are hurricanes that form near the coast. They, rushing at breakneck speed, are capable of sweeping entire cities out of their way. What is a hurricane? This is a terrible danger that man has not yet learned how to prevent. These are hundreds of dead, a destroyed economy, destroyed cities.
Over the past thirty years, the strength of tropical cyclones around the world has increased significantly, according to data analysis by Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Peter Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology. They suspect the greenhouse effect caused some of the increase because it warms the oceans.
Other researchers, such as Christopher Landze and Robert Tuleya at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, do not see a clear link between global warming and stronger hurricanes. They indicate that there are strong natural factors and that fluctuations in hurricane activity continue to be a mystery. In addition, the database is thin.
Hurricane Katrina
It happened in August 2005 and remains one of the 
the most destructive. It began to form on Bahamas and within a day he achieved such strength that he received the fifth, highest category, before reaching America. This means that the wind speed exceeded 280 kilometers per hour. Not all technical devices can move at such speed on the ground. Having reached the United States, Katrina killed 1,836 Americans. More than 700 of them lived in New Orleans. Four states were immediately affected by the hurricane. They declared an emergency, but could not prevent the destruction: people do not yet have such skills. The damage that Katrina caused to the United States amounted to $125 billion. What is a hurricane? This is also, as the experience of New Orleans has shown, rampant crime. Marauders moved freely throughout the destroyed city, plundering shops and miraculously surviving buildings. Several attacks on the city hospital were reported. Truly a hurricane is a terrible test for people.
There are some signs that humans are already having an impact on hurricanes today. But whether this effect will be large enough in the coming decades to distinguish it from natural fluctuations is uncertain. We explain the differences and also look at the biggest hurricanes and storm surges of past years.
Hurricane Irma sweeps across Florida, knocking down buildings like houses of cards. These are pictures in which one secretly thinks: “It’s good that this doesn’t happen in Germany.” And he hangs in false security. Even in Germany, many hurricanes have torn up trees, even here, many tornadoes have spun cars in the air. But where is the difference between all the technical terms?
How does a hurricane form?
The photo above shows how warm air and cold masses collide. If the water temperature in the tropics exceeds 27 degrees, then the likelihood of a hurricane increases many times over. Colliding with each other, air masses of different temperatures form an area of low pressure, which becomes the birth point of a hurricane. The speed of its development and movement can also be influenced by observing the weather from space, scientists have learned to predict where exactly there is a threat of a hurricane. But they are not yet able to calculate either its strength or the exact path of movement. It is good if governments manage to evacuate the population of those places that could be destroyed by uncontrollable disasters. And if not?
Tropical cyclones occur in the tropics in so-called low pressure areas, that is, where air rises. They form only over the sea. There the water evaporates from the water temperature of 26 degrees: steam rises. As the earth rotates on its axis, the vapor clouds also rotate. This creates a vortex that sucks out more and more air, like a vacuum cleaner from below. There are three intensity levels.
Tropical hurricanes can be classified into different categories based on their intensity. This usually occurs after the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Depending on where you are in the world, you call it a tropical hurricane, cyclone, typhoon or bagyo. In general, the further inland a tropical storm moves, the weaker it becomes. Finally, the evaporating water that causes it to grow disappears.
As long as humanity has lived on Earth, it has been trying to conquer nature. But he doesn’t always succeed in this. Natural phenomena often bring loss, fear and even death to humanity.
Hurricane: definition
One such natural phenomenon is a hurricane. What is a hurricane? This is a wind whose speed reaches one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour or more. A hurricane constantly moves through a certain area for at least 9-12 days. The strength of a hurricane is determined on a scale of twelve.
Tropical hurricanes that occur in North Atlantic, are called hurricanes. If such a hurricane occurs in the northeastern part Pacific Ocean, it is also called a hurricane. Category 5 hurricane: Homes and bridges are destroyed, small buildings are completely inflated or deflated, ships are thrown hundreds of meters onto the shore. Coastal areas below 5 m above sea level are flooded up to 16 km inland. - German Meteorological Service, Saffir-Simpson scale.
IN Indian Ocean, as well as in the South Pacific around Australia, tropical hurricanes are called cyclones. This will affect countries such as India, Madagascar or Australia. The only difference from hurricanes or typhoons is the direction of rotation. Cyclones in the southern hemisphere rotate clockwise, while hurricanes in the northern hemisphere move counterclockwise.
This force of nature can be compared to an earthquake. On its way, the hurricane demolishes buildings, levels villages, and destroys bridges and roads. He easily lifts a person off the ground and throws piles of all kinds of garbage on him.
Forecaster observations
Forecasters call hurricanes by names to distinguish between these terrible forces. Using special aircraft and radars, hurricane movements are monitored. Therefore, they try to warn people that a disaster will soon hit them.
He killed more than 60 people while thousands were brought to safety. Like a typhoon, called tropical hurricanes in Eastern and South-East Asia. Therefore, they occur in the Pacific Northwest and cause damage, especially in Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. They typically reach even higher speeds than hurricanes.
This is partly due to higher water temperatures in the area of origin. The word "Medican" is a combination of "Mediterranean" and "Hurricane". This refers to the vortex above Mediterranean Sea. Unlike tropical cyclones, hurricanes form outside tropical latitudes. They are the result of cold air entering warm air. Because they often occur in autumn or winter - whenever the temperature difference between the subtropics and polar regions is the highest, they are also called winter storms.
Scientists, conducting observations, have established that these natural phenomena have their own cyclical nature and most often occur in the last months of summer. At this time of year, the water warms up very much and evaporates upward. At the same time, cold air currents arrive below, and a vortex begins to be born. It can be up to thirty-five kilometers wide. And in its center the weather is completely calm, while the storm and wind are raging at the edges of this funnel. The width of such a hurricane sometimes reaches 400-600 kilometers. It rushes to land, where after a few days it loses its strength.
Hordes are measured using the Beaufort scale. This ranges from strength 0 for calm to strength 12 for hurricane. The difference between tornadoes and tropical cyclones is that they can also occur on land. And whenever moist air meets cold, dry air. In addition, a tornado has a diameter of only 100 meters, while hurricanes can be, for example, several hundred kilometers. But they can be twice as fast as hurricanes, but only in the last few minutes or hours, not a few weeks.
Windbreaker is another term for "Tornado". Both describe the same weather phenomenon. But the swirling column of air does massive damage as soon as it hits the ground, no matter what it's called. This means a continuous wind that changes direction every six months. It significantly influences the weather in South and Southeast Asia. For example, rainy and dry periods in India are regulated. For this reason, the year is not divided into four seasons, but into the summer monsoon and winter monsoon.
There are also hurricanes in Russia from time to time. This occurs in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, Kamchatka, Chukotka and Sakhalin.