The Eye Of The Storm

It's that time of year again. The season to keep your eye's on the Tropics and to board up your windows and pray that the hurricane doesn't hit land. Whatever category the hurricane is don't take it lightly because it's bound to cause damage, no matter in the water or on the land.

A Hurricane is a wave that usually comes off of the South African Coast. The wave starts off as a tropical disturbance and sometimes grows into a tropical depression. A tropical depression is an area of rotating thunderstorms that have winds of thirty eight miles or less. As this storm moves across the warm waters the storm intensifies and becomes a hurricane with winds reaching seventy five miles or more per hour. There are five categories that a hurricane can be classified as, these classifications go by the intesity of the wind.

Category 1- A category one hurricane is a range of wind speeds from 74-95 miles per hour. This category one Hurricane can uproot and snap tree's. This hurricane can cause roof damage to your home by lifting shingles that are not intact properly. This category normally doesn't cause no major structural damage to buildings.

Category 2- A category two hurricane range of wind speed is from 96-110 miles per hour. This Hurricane can cause damage to your home,boats,road signs,etc. This category two can also cause some major power outages.

Category 3- A category three has wind speeds from 111-130 miles per hour. This hurricane classification is considered a major hurricane. This hurricane will more than likely cause some major structural damage, it will snap utility poles in half and can even remove roofs off of homes and buildings.

Category 4- A category four has wind speeds from 131-155 miles per hour. A hurricane that is a category four you might want to definetly consider evacuating to keep you and your family safe. This hurricane levels mobile and manufactured homes, it will also remove a car port and canopies off of gas stations or other buildings.

Category 5- A category five hurricane has wind speeds from 156 or more miles per hour. This category is the highest and is also considered to be a cyclone. This hurricane can and will wipe out everything in it's path.

Everyone is probably wondering what the eye of the storm is and what does it mean. The eye of a storm is the location of the storms minimum barometric pressure, it's where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is the lowest. The eye of a storm is the circular area in the middle that looks clear but it is surrounded by the eye wall, the eye wall is where the most severe weather is. So if a hurricane has a well defined eye then that means it's a well organized storm and there's nothing interrupting it from developing and intensifying.

If a hurricane is coming take all measures to be safe. Depending on the category of the hurricane prepare in advance by boarding up windows, stocking up on water, food, flash lights batteries, etc. If there saying to evacuate then do so even though you don't want to leave your home. There's nothing more difficult then someone not listening to evacuate and then later having to go and save them. Make sure your pets are brought inside because they have feelings to. If your riding out the storm stay inside and stay away from windows. Stay out of the oceans do to tides and undertow. The most important thing to do during a hurricane is use common sense to stay safe.