HURRICANES

  Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all the same thing, but with
  different names.  Some countries call them one name, and other country
  may very well call it something else.  These are known as the greatest
  storms on earth, and for good reason.  In order for a tropical storm to
  have hurricane status, it must have minimum wind speeds of 74 MPH.  Along
  with those high winds, you have ocean waves of over 45 feet.  They are
  basically a large, rotating wind system that starts over warm tropical
  waters.  It has a calm central core or 'eye', is within high walls of
  thick clouds, and its internal temperatures are higher than in the
  surrounding atmosphere.  Hurricanes usually dump heavy to torrential
  amounts of precipitation, and have internal tornado-like whirls.  As a
  hurricane approaches land, it causes the tide to rise.  This rise is to
  the right of the storm compared to its forward motion.  It washes and
  erodes beaches, destroys on-shore buildings, and will drown many people
  who do not take the warnings seriously.  The National Weather Service
  does give plenty of warnings about such disasters -- these are well in
  advance, and are very accurate.  For the United States, hurricanes usually
  begin in the Gulf of Mexico, and proceed north to the southern states,
  and up to the Carolinas.

  A typical tropical storm season lasts six months -- June through November.
  The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are usually the origins of such
  tropical storms.  June storms are usually small and of little consequence.
  As the season approaches its peak, September, the storms increase in both
  size and wind speed.  The Atlantic ocean reaches temperatures near 80
  degrees F. (27 degrees C.), which becomes the main storm generating
  location.  One third of all North Atlantic storms happen in, or close to
  September.  There is a slight decrease of major storms in the second half
  of the month, then an increase during early October.  This is when the
  Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico once again become the origin of such
  storms.