11 Facts About Hurricanes

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1. Hurricanes are large, spiraling tropical storms that can pack wind speeds of over 160 mph and unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons of rain a day.^[National Geographic Society. "Hurricanes." Environment.National Geographic. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/hurricane-profile/.]
2. The deadliest U.S. hurricane on record was a Category 4 storm that hit the island city of Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1900. Some 8,000 people lost their lives when the island was destroyed by 15-ft waves and 130-mph winds.^[Handwerk, Brian. "Eye on the Storm: Hurricane Katrina Fast Facts." National Geographic News. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0906_050906_katrina_facts.html.]
3. Over 1/3 of cat and dog owners don't have a disaster preparedness plan in place for their animals. Help neighbors and friends come up with a hurricane plan for their pets. Sign up for Save Our Pets.^[ASPCA. “ASPCA Expert Tips: Keeping Pets Safe and Calm During Disasters.” Web. Accessed December 9, 2013. http://www.aspca.org/about-us/press-releases/aspca-expert-tips-keeping-pets-safe-and-calm-during-disasters]
4. In the Atlantic, hurricane season starts June 1, while in the Pacific it starts May 15. Both end on November 30.^[The Weather Channel, LLC. "Hurricanes and Tropical Storms." Weather.com. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/tropical/climo.html.]
5. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and heavy waves can damage buildings, trees and cars. The heavy waves are called a storm surge.^[National Weather Service. "Storm Surge Overview." National Hurricane Center. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/.]
6. 40% of the hurricanes that occur in the United States hit Florida.^[National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. "How many direct hits by hurricanes of various categories have affected each state." Atlantic Oceanic & Meteorological Laboratories. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E19.html.]
7. The difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane is wind speed – tropical storms usually bring winds of 36 to 47 mph, whereas hurricane wind speeds are at least 74 mph.^[National Science Foundation. "Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones | UCAR - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research." University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Accessed February 25, 2014, https://www2.ucar.edu/news/backgrounders/hurricanes-typhoons-cyclones.]
8. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around the eye. The rotating storm clouds create the "eye wall," which is the most destructive part of the storm.^[Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "The Eye Wall:a hurricane's most devastating region." Weather World 2010 Project. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hurr/stages/cane/wall.rxml.]
9. Hurricanes are classified into 5 categories, based on their wind speeds and potential to cause damage. Names can be "retired" if a hurricane has been really big and destructive. Retired names include Katrina, Andrew, Mitch and most recently Sandy.^[National Weather Service. "Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale." National Hurricane Center. Accessed February 24, 2014, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php.]
10. When the National Hurricane Center began giving official names to storms in 1953, they were all female. This practice of using only women’s names ended in 1978.^[NOAA/ National Weather Service. "Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names." National Hurricane Center. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml.]
11. The costliest hurricane to make landfall was Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm that slammed Louisiana in August of 2005. Damages cost an estimated $108 billion.^[NOAA/ National Weather Service. "Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names." National Hurricane Center. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml.]