Hurricane is a type of weather phenomenon formed by the displacement of air currents from low pressure systems that turn into a vortex that rotates in large circles, reaching a speed of over 250 km/hour.
It usually originates in the tropical zones of the planet and is responsible for transporting heat from the equatorial region to higher latitudes, due to the high temperatures of ocean waters. There is a high rate of evaporation that produces a large amount of moisture and later becomes the air masses that form hurricanes.
In a hurricane, there is a phenomenon where the winds circulate in the form of a whirlpool and, as a result, the pressure atmospheric drops considerably and according to the strength of the winds it can be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 named Saffir-Simpson. The one that reaches scale 1 has low speed winds, while the scale 5 has very strong winds, as shown in the table below:
| scale level | Wind speed (km/h) |
| Tropical storm | 51-118 |
| 1 | 117–151 |
| 2 | 152–176 |
| 3 | 177–208 |
| 4 | 209–248 |
| 5 | More than 249 |
A large scale hurricane can seriously destroy houses, buildings, buildings and even put people's lives in danger. In recent years, some hurricane outbreaks have resulted in huge economic losses for entire cities.
For this reason, the meteorological services of the countries most affected by hurricanes have a control system that makes it possible to prevent this type of phenomenon. They constantly monitor this type of phenomenon, in order to be able to alert the local population in advance when there is any evidence of its formation in the region.
Hurricane x Tornado
Despite being a type of weather phenomenon, hurricanes are quite different from other natural weather phenomena such as tornadoes. You tornadoes are much smaller than hurricanes (having a diameter around 2km or a little more), but they have much higher speeds, which can reach 400 km/h.
Hurricane x Typhoon
Although both are also weather phenomena with many similarities, the main difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is in the formation sites. When it occurs in the Atlantic Ocean or Eastern Pacific, it is called a hurricane. In the Western Pacific, typhoon. Both phenomena are classified as cyclones, both with low pressure and winds rotating around their centers.
See more about the meaning of typhoon.
