Hurricanes are the planet’s most ferocious storms. They are known as cyclones in Australia and typhoons in southeast Asia. They bring massive waves and wind speeds that can gust up to 186 mph. Hurricanes are not the normal storms created when cold and warm fronts collide. A hurricane is made up of bands of thunderclouds that spin around a clear, still center called the eye. Winds blowing across the warm seas close to the equator suck up heat and water vapor to form the storms that produce hurricanes. The swirling mass of thunderclouds is set spinning by the rotation of the earth and by winds from the poles.
Lecture on Hurricanes
