Facts about hurricanes.

Florence, Debbie, Hato, Bhola...

Hmm, these aren't names of Hamlet's friends!

These are the names of different hurricanes!

Hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones are all names for the same phenomenon.

They're just called by different names in different ocean basins.

Hurricanes are named based on a list created by the World Meteorological Organization, used on a six-year rotation.

If a storm is particularly destructive or deadly, the WMO will retire that name from official lists so it's never used again out of respect for the families of the storm's victims and survivors.

Oh, my god! Hurricanes can produce wind speeds even higher than 150 miles per hour!

The first hurricane that caused people to fly in it, occurred in 1943 during World War II.

Hurricane Hunters fly planes into hurricanes to gather weather data.

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale defines hurricane strength by categories.

A Category 1 storm is the weakest hurricane with winds having speed between 74 and 95 miles per hour.

While a Category 5 hurricane is the strongest with winds greater than 155 miles per hour.

Faster isn't always better!

Hurricanes that move slowly are likely to produce more rains, causing more damage by flooding, than fast moving hurricanes.

A hurricane has eyes, huh?

Huh?

The eye of the hurricane is a section at the center of the hurricane, which has the calmest weather with clear skies and low winds.

The eye is surrounded by an eyewall, which is the deadliest part of the hurricane.

It is a towering ring of thunderstorms, high wind speed, and severe weather.

Planet Earth isn't the only planet to experience hurricanes!

Planet Jupiter has a hurricane, which appears as a red dot on it, and it has been spinning for 300 years.

This hurricane is bigger than Earth itself.

But why don't countries near the equator experience hurricanes?

Hmm...

Hurricanes need the Coriolis Force to form, which is very weak at the Equator.

This is why hurricanes cannot form near the Equator.

The deadliest hurricane on record is the 1970 Bhola Cyclone in Bangladesh, which killed between 150,000 to 300,000 people.