How Hurricanes Form
Hurricanes are the BIGGEST storms on Earth — they can be 500 miles wide! That is wider than the entire state of Texas.
Hurricanes form over warm tropical oceans (at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit). The warm water evaporates and rises, creating an area of low pressure. More air rushes in to fill the gap, and IT warms up and rises too. This cycle creates a giant spinning storm.
The Earth's rotation makes the storm spin — counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. As the storm grows stronger, winds increase and the hurricane gets a NAME!
Hurricanes are called different things around the world: hurricanes in the Americas, typhoons in Asia, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean. But they are all the same type of storm!