Storms are given many different names, depending on their nature and where they take place. But all storms are alike in that a storm is simply air that is moving rapidly from one place to another.
If it is air alone, it is called a "windstorm". If it has picked up dust,along the way, it is called a dust storm . Most storms, however, include water-in some form water may come with the storm as rain.
The most violent and dangerous storms of all are hurricanes and tornadoes.
Hurricanes are storms that start in the Tropics. They strike the United States for example, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico area and also all along the eastern coast. Now a strange thing is that exactly the same kind of storm, when it takes place in the East Indies and the China Sea, is called a "typhoon". A general name for both is "tropical storms".
In a hurricane, the storm area is usually from 100 to 400 miles in diameter, and winds around the hurricane may reach speeds of 75 to 1 25 miles per hour. A special feature of the hurricane is the calm, central part of the storm, which is called the "eye" of the storm. This eye is about 5 to 15 miles in diameter. As it moves over an area, the winds become almost calm. This sometimes leads people to believe that the storm is over. However, after the eye passes, the winds begin to flow with equal violence from the opposite direction, since a hurricane is a circular storm. The winds move in a kind of circle as the storm itself moves.
Another type of circular storm is the tornado, but it is different from a hurricane because it is usually only up to about 1,500 metres in diameter. Tornadoes are formed most often in the central Mississippi Valley of the United States. A tornado begins as a black, funnel-shaped cloud in a larger thunderstorm area. The path of a tornado may only be a few kilometres long and a few hundred metres wide,but it can destroy everything in its path.
If it is air alone, it is called a "windstorm". If it has picked up dust,along the way, it is called a dust storm . Most storms, however, include water-in some form water may come with the storm as rain.
The most violent and dangerous storms of all are hurricanes and tornadoes.
Hurricanes are storms that start in the Tropics. They strike the United States for example, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico area and also all along the eastern coast. Now a strange thing is that exactly the same kind of storm, when it takes place in the East Indies and the China Sea, is called a "typhoon". A general name for both is "tropical storms".
In a hurricane, the storm area is usually from 100 to 400 miles in diameter, and winds around the hurricane may reach speeds of 75 to 1 25 miles per hour. A special feature of the hurricane is the calm, central part of the storm, which is called the "eye" of the storm. This eye is about 5 to 15 miles in diameter. As it moves over an area, the winds become almost calm. This sometimes leads people to believe that the storm is over. However, after the eye passes, the winds begin to flow with equal violence from the opposite direction, since a hurricane is a circular storm. The winds move in a kind of circle as the storm itself moves.
Another type of circular storm is the tornado, but it is different from a hurricane because it is usually only up to about 1,500 metres in diameter. Tornadoes are formed most often in the central Mississippi Valley of the United States. A tornado begins as a black, funnel-shaped cloud in a larger thunderstorm area. The path of a tornado may only be a few kilometres long and a few hundred metres wide,but it can destroy everything in its path.
