What is a Hurricane?

8/13/2018 (Permalink)

A hurricane is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as “a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 mph hour or greater that occurs especially in the western Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes.”  A cyclone is “a storm or system of winds that rotates about a system of low atmospheric pressure, advances at speeds of 20-30 mph and often brings heavy rain.”  This means that a hurricane is always a cyclone, but a cyclone is not necessarily a hurricane.  A cyclone can also be a typhoon or a tornado.  Cyclones that occur in the North Atlantic, Caribbean and northeastern Pacific are known as hurricanes.  The most active tropical-cyclone basin in the world is the Northwest Pacific and when these storms occur there, they are known as typhoons. In the Indian Ocean and South Pacific they are simply referred to as cyclones.  No matter what they are called, they can all bring about devastating effects and SERVPRO of Mobile County wants you to know we will be Here to Help.®  As a member of the SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team, we have countless hours helping those affected by catastrophic events.  From fires to floods and even hurricanes, we can handle it all!