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LESSON 5

The Weather

HURRICANE

With a hurricane there are waves of 14 metres or more. The air is filled with foam and spray. The sea is completely white with driving spray. Visibility is very seriously affected.


	This is what a hurricane does to the sea.

Hurricanes are very rarely experienced on land. When they occur they cause wide-spread damage to buildings
and any other structures. This is what a hurricane looks like from above.

The speed of the wind is between 64 and 71 knots.

Remember that a knot is one nautical mile (nm) per hour.

A nautical mile is the traditional way of measuring distances at sea. It is equal to
1,852 metres. The word nautical (like the word maritme) means ‘to do with the
sea or ships’.

A hurricane is called Wind Force 12 on the Beaufort Wind Force Scale. Sailors
use this scale to describe the force of the wind. We will learn about this in another lesson.

Was there ever a hurricane in your area?

You will not experience a hurricane on land very often. Ask your patents or other adults if there was ever a storm in the area. Perhaps a local newspaper has reported a hurricane at some stage in the past. Could you find out?

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