Science
What is Hurricane?
A hurricane is a huge, spinning storm that forms over warm ocean water, with powerful winds and heavy rain rotating around a calm center called the eye. The same kind of storm is called a typhoon in the northwest Pacific and a cyclone in the Indian Ocean.
See it, don’t just read it.
Watch a 2-minute lesson with voice + animation that explains hurricane.
Key things to understand
- 1Hurricanes form over warm tropical oceans (about 26°C and above), which supply the heat and moisture that power them.
- 2Warm, moist air rises and spirals, and Earth's rotation gives the storm its characteristic spin.
- 3At the center is the eye — a calm, clear zone — surrounded by the eyewall, where the strongest winds are.
- 4They're rated 1–5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale by wind speed; a hurricane has winds of at least 119 km/h.
- 5Main hazards: destructive winds, torrential rain, flooding, and storm surge — a wall of seawater pushed ashore.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between a hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone?
- They're the same kind of storm — the name depends on location. It's a hurricane in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific, a typhoon in the northwest Pacific, and a cyclone in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific.
- How is a hurricane different from a tornado?
- A hurricane is huge (hundreds of km), forms over warm oceans, and lasts days. A tornado is small (often under a km), forms over land from thunderstorms, and lasts minutes — though its winds can be even faster.
- What is the eye of a hurricane?
- The calm, low-pressure center. Skies there can be clear, but it's ringed by the eyewall — the band of the most violent winds and rain.