46 Harmful Hurricanes-Mid

Harmful Hurricanes FOCUS Question How does a hurricane affect people and places?

What Is a Hurricane? Imagine you are near the ocean. It is very stormy outside and the waves are huge. Is this a hurricane? It might be! A hurricane is a very big storm. Hurricanes form over an ocean. Then they might move over the land near an ocean. Hurricane weather includes strong wind and heavy rain. Ocean waves are very large during a hurricane! Wowser! Category 5 hurricanes have wind speeds over 250 kilometers (155 mi.) per hour.

Floods Hurricanes drop a lot of rain from the sky to the ground. Hurricanes also make big waves in oceans. Big waves bring a lot of water from the ocean onto the land. Between the rain and waves, this extra water can cause floods. Water covers places that are usually dry.

Windy Weather Wind is very strong during a hurricane. It can knock over trees. It can move dirt and rocks. Wind from a hurricane can also damage houses, schools, and other buildings. Strong wind can pick up heavy things and move them. These things might break windows or knock over poles.

Where Hurricanes Happen Hurricanes start over the sea. The big waves from hurricanes hit along the coast. Wind and rain from hurricanes can move far inland.

Forecasting Hurricanes Weather forecasts can warn us that a hurricane is near. Scientists called meteorologists (me-tee-yur-AHL-uh-jists) use special tools to observe and predict the weather. They can predict how strong the wind will be. They can tell when a hurricane will hit the coast. Images taken far above Earth are important, too. They tell us a hurricane is coming and where it will go. Do You Know? The name of the first hurricane of each hurricane season starts with the letter A.