Tornadoes vs Hurricanes

Hurricanes Page 1

Hurricanes vs. Tornadoes

Lisa Tindal

ENG 121

Dr. Holmberg

05-05-11

Hurricane Page 2

Hurricanes vs. Tornadoes

Death and Destruction! The headlines across the southern United States read last week and before the end of November there will be many more along those same lines. It has already been a rough spring for Alabama and North Carolina. The bad news is that tornado season is just starting and hurricane season is around the corner. The good news is that conditions have to be just right for either of these to form.

Although many people say, “what’s the difference?”, most know that these two phenomenon are different yet somehow the same. Both, hurricanes and tornadoes form in warm, damp air and both are natural disasters that, generally, strike throughout the summer months. Hurricane season lasts from June through November and tornado season lasts from March through August. (www.whathappensnow.com) The U.S. endures about 400 million dollars in damages and 70 deaths annually on average. (www.nationalgeographic.com)

Hurricanes are in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean or South Pacific ocean. They are found over warm water in tropical zones and have a different name according to what part of the world that they are in. Tornadoes have been spotted on every continent of the world, except Antarctica, they too have different names. Whatever their names, they are capable of causing massive death tolls.

A tornado is often accompanied by black storm clouds and hail. The funnel cloud touches the ground and destroys everything in its path. Although, every U.S. state has had a twister, Texas holds the record with 120 on average per year. Waterspouts form over warm water and sometimes move inland to form tornadoes. Dust devils are not associated with thunderstorms and identified by rapidly rotating columns of air and dirt. Hurricane is derived from the Spanish...