Hurricanes

Hurricanes are tropical cyclones with sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour. They form over warm ocean water and rotate around a low-pressure center.

Tropical cyclogenesis: The formation and development of tropical cyclones over warm ocean waters. Hurricanes begin through this broader process of tropical cyclone formation.
Tropical cyclone: A rotating low-pressure storm that forms over tropical or subtropical waters. Hurricane is the regional name for this storm system above a wind-speed threshold.
Hurricane forecast model: A numerical weather model that simulates a tropical cyclone's track or intensity. Forecast models estimate where a hurricane will travel and how it may change.
Hurricane Katrina: A 2005 Atlantic hurricane whose storm surge devastated parts of the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans. Its levee failures and flooding exposed the consequences of vulnerable coastal defenses.
Coriolis force: The apparent deflection of moving objects caused by Earth's rotation. It helps organize a hurricane's rotating circulation and prevents formation at the equator.
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale: A five-category scale that classifies hurricanes by sustained wind speed. It communicates wind-based intensity without measuring storm surge or rainfall.
Hurricane track forecast: A prediction of a tropical cyclone's future path and position. Track forecasts guide evacuation decisions and identify areas facing possible landfall.
Hurricane Andrew: A powerful 1992 Atlantic hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. Its wind damage reshaped building codes and disaster planning in Florida.
Latent heat: Energy absorbed or released during a change of state without changing temperature. Condensation releases heat that helps power a hurricane's warm core.
Tropical storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour. A storm becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 miles per hour.

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