Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor Michigan www cherrylakepublishing com Consultants Jennifer Rivers Cole Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Marla Conn ReadAbility Inc Editorial direction Red Line Editorial Book design and illustration Design Lab Photo Credits Shutterstock Images cover 1 David J Phillip AP Images 5 25 NASA 7 12 18 NASA Corbis 9 John Plumber DK Images 11 Corbis 15 Charles Sykes AP Images 21 US Army 26 Sayre Berman Corbis 28 Copyright 2015 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reina Mary author The science of a hurricane by Mary Reina pages cm Disaster science Audience 11 Audience Grade 4 to 6 Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-63137-624-5 hardcover ISBN 978-1-63137-669-6 pbk ISBN 978-1-63137-714-3 pdf ebook ISBN 978-1-63137-759-4 hosted ebook 1 Hurricanes Juvenile literature I Title QC944 2 R45 2015 551 55’2 dc23 2014004030 Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Please visit www p21 org for more information Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics Inc July 2014 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Reina is an experienced science and nature writer specializing in books and articles for elementary school readers Her work includes two books and more than 50 articles covering various aspects of science history nature the environment and astronomy
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 The Fiercest Storms on Earth 4 CHAPTER 2 Hurricane Formation 8 CHAPTER 3 Tracking and Predicting 14 CHAPTER 4 One Storm Many Dangers 20 CHAPTER 5 Minimizing Damage 24 TOP FIVE WORST HURRICANES 30 LEARN MORE 31 GLOSSARY 32 INDEX 32
21st century skills library 4 The Fiercest Storms on Earth chapter 1 Hurricanes are the world’s largest most destructive storms Their swirling masses of wind and water destroy cities take lives and can leave thousands without homes One of the worst hurricanes in recent history hit the United States on August 29 2005 Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people in Mississippi and Louisiana and caused more than 108 billion in damage No other hurricane in the nation’s history has been as costly
disaster science 5 Hurricane Katrina left much of New Orleans Louisiana under water Hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean the Northeast Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico hit the United States Mexico and the Caribbean islands The hurricane season in these areas lasts from June 1 until November 30 Hurricanes also hit Asia Australia and Africa They are often known as typhoons or cyclones in these areas but they are the same type of storm The hurricane season is different in each area For instance Australia’s hurricane season lasts from November to April Scientists group hurricanes typhoons and cyclones under the term tropical cyclone
