I thought this would be a good time to talk about hurricanes, with Earl threatening the east coast and Fiona right behind him!
Hurricanes are a category of tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones are divided into three types: tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. Storms fall into these catagories according to the intensity of storm.
A tropical depression is a storm system with winds of up to 38 miles per hour.
A tropical storm is a storm system with winds between 39 and 73 miles per hour.
A hurricane is a storm system with winds above 73 miles per hour. Hurricanes are further divided on a scale from 1 (weakest) to 5 (strongest). Hurricanes that you may remember that have reached Category 5 include Hugo (1989), Andrew (1992), Mitch (1998), Ivan (2004), and Katrina (2005). This is only a partial list. You may want to read more about this at the link below.
Tropical cyclones are caused by a combination of warm tropical waters, light winds, and moisture. When those elements come together under the right conditions, they begin to swirl and move across the ocean, bringing strong winds, high waves, and intense thunderstorms, often resulting in heavy wind damage and flooding.
For more information about hurricanes, check out the National Hurricane Center's website:
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