Hurricane Ida
Recently, the extremely dangerous ‘Category-4’ hurricane ‘Ida’ has knocked in Louisiana, USA. It is one of the most powerful hurricanes the US has ever experienced.
Hurricane ‘Ida’ is also a big challenge for the many miles long bridge built after the devastation of ‘Katrina’ storm in 2005.
Key Points
- Hurricanes are the most powerful and destructive storms on Earth.
- They are mainly formed in warm equatorial waters because ‘tropical cyclones’ use moist air as fuel.
- When warm, moist air rises above the surface of the ocean, it creates an area of low pressure. The air from the surrounding areas fills this space and eventually rises up, becoming warm and moist.
- Due to which an ‘eye’ is formed in the center of the cyclone. This is the quietest part, as the air warms up and rises before reaching the center of the cyclone.
- When warm air rises and cools, this moisture forms clouds. This system of clouds and winds moves and rotates.
- This disturbance is produced by the heat of the ocean and the water evaporating from its surface.
- Due to the Coriolis force of the Earth, the movement of cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere is counter-clockwise, that is, counter-clockwise and in the Southern Hemisphere, clockwise.
Names of cyclones in different regions of the world:
Typhoons: Tropical cyclones in the China Sea and Pacific Ocean are called ‘typhoons’.
Hurricane: In the West Indian islands (Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean) it is known as Hurricane.
Willy-Willies: North-Western Australia.
Tropical Cyclones: Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
Hurricane Classification:
- Hurricane intensity is measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which measures them on a scale of 1 to 5 depending on wind speed.
- Hurricanes that fall into Category 3 or higher are classified as major and dangerous hurricanes.
Source – The Hindu
