What is a hurricane?

_Elsa_

Elsa continues her googling to find out what a hurricane is and how and where they develop. Just then her phone rings and it’s her buddy Tiffi calling.

“Hi Tiffi, have you recovered from all those summer adventures yet?” asks Elsa. “You’re not going to believe this but I just had the TV on and they are talking about Hurricane Elsa. I think it’s cool that they are naming a hurricane with my name. I was just looking on Google to learn more about them.”

Tiffi gets excited for her friend. She tells Elsa that she’s going to do some googling herself to see what hurricanes are all about. They say their goodbyes and both of them begin their googling.

Elsa finds an article with a video. She decides to check it out.

‘A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters. 

A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities). Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 39 miles per hour (mph) are called tropical depressions. Those with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are called tropical storms. 

When a storm's maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating, or category, based on a hurricane's maximum sustained winds. The higher the category, the greater the hurricane's potential for property damage.’ (Source) 

Let’s continue - How do hurricanes form?

Start at the beginning – Here comes Hurricane Elsa!