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(Tornadoes)

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Instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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Under "Assignments," watch the videos and read the articles on the "Severe Weather Board."

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Use your existing Discovery Education username and password.

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Tornado Season usually comes with Spring in our area. We're warned as the spring thunderstorms come, so do the tornadoes. And while it's true that the 'season' is usually in the spring/early summer, the fact that twisters can happen year round actually make this a severe weather threat all year long.

Instead of sharing a whole bunch of tornado facts , let's get down to what YOU can do for your family to prepare for Tornado Season (and any severe weather threat - because straight line winds can cause as much damage as a tornado can).
[ Red Cross Safety Checklist ]
Situational Awareness. Watch the skies.

Be aware of changing weather in your area. Don't wait for the 'green sky' effect to decide that it's time to seek shelter. Know what bad weather looks like and respond accordingly. Keep lines of communication open such as a television station turned to your favorite weather alert channel, your cell phone handy in case the power goes out, and a weather radio tuned into your area's emergency network.

Have a 72 hour kits handy.

This should be year-round. Having backpacks or totes ready to get you through at least 3 days in the event of having to evacuate your shelter because of severe weather damage to your house should be one of the first things you do. If a tornado does strike your area and your house is damaged, having your emergency go bags at the ready can give you some peace of mind until you can get back into your house or to a more permanent shelter.

Keep your car at the ready

Keeping your gas tank full, having an stocked emergency car kit (full of the same things you might have in your 72 hour kits for redundancy can get you out of the area if severe weather is needing you to evacuate (think hurricanes or even fires during the height of the dry season).

[ How to Create a Car Emergency Kit]

Communications

Have a weather radio of some sort available to listen to, because you may not always have power for the television or your internet connection. We use this weather alert radio at our house and like all of the options it gives. Also make sure you've alerted family who may still be out and about and not aware of the situation, and keep in contact with them about where they are and what help you can give. Have your cellphone loaded with emergency apps that can help you in the case of a power outage.

Light

Keep flashlights handy in several locations in your house as power outages are more prevalent in severe weather. We keep these flashlights next to our beds, in the bathrooms, at our desks, several in the living area, and one by the front and back doors. We also have large flashlights, oil lamps, camp lanterns and a box of emergency lighting handy as well. For us, the most likely scenario is that we lose power for an extended amount of time, and with living in a dark house, alternative light sources help us tremendously.

[ Preparedness Quick Tip: | Use Outdoor Solar Lights to bring light indoors!]

Seek Shelter

Find the room in your house that is centrally located (meaning away from outer walls and windows) that you and your family can hide in. We use the front bathroom as it is centrally located and surrounded by all the plumbing in the house (hopefully giving it a bit more stability than the closet on the outer wall). We have an emergency kit stored under the counter, and have easy access to a mattress that can be thrown over the bathtub for the children.

Severe Weather Drill

As important as having 'things' to prepare you, having a plan of action is just as important - as well as practicing that plan of action. When threat levels of a tornado kick is unto gear (1-3 times per year for our area), we have a plan of action we immediately begin. The children all know to get their list of things and get to their safe area. I grab those things that are part of my list and store them in their safe spots, and make sure the children are safe, then we hunker down. Do NOT run around the house trying to open all of the windows. You're just wasting precious safety time.

Communications

Because you aren't at home, you must really rely on situational awareness to notice the changing weather. Be sure you have your cell phone updated with apps to alert you, and your radio on to listen to local announcements.

[ Preparedness Tip: Update the apps on your phone]

Seek Shelter

Find a safe place to shelter from the cell as it moves through. Not only do you have to worry about the actual tornado, you have to also worry about straight line winds, hail, limited visibility, and the other people on the road who aren't paying attention to any of those things and are creating a nuisance. Your best bet is to find a permanent building to shelter in (fast food restaurant rest rooms or walk-in freezers, storage/utility rooms of larger buildings - always staying as low to the ground as you can, covered, and away from any windows or outside doors)

*note: If you are in your car and can get out to a safe building, do so. If you can see the tornado moving, drive off in the opposite direction. If you cannot see it moving (or it gets bigger), you're in the direct path and need to get safe. From The Art of Manliness Blog:
When I was a lad I was taught that if a tornado is bearing down on you while you're driving, it's always best to get out of your car and lie down in a ditch or gully, since the twister could turn your vehicle into a deadly plaything. But recent studies have actually shown that most tornadoes aren't capable of hurling your car through the air, and that staying inside it can be safer than getting out. There's still some controversy over which option is best, however. What the Red Cross recommends is getting off the road, parking the car, and slouching down as low in your seat as you can while still keeping your seatbelt on. Duck and lean away from the windows and cover your head with a blanket or coat if you have one. If you see that there's an area below the level of the roadway for you to go, you may decide to get out of the car, lie face down there, and cover your head. The Red Cross helpfully adds, "Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances." Good luck with that decision! And stay safe out there, men.
Triage

Assess your situation - make sure everyone you are with is okay- or determine their need of emergency care and take care of what you can. Of course, some wounds may need more than you can handle, in which case you need to find help immediately (check your phone and call for help, or be sure to follow the next steps when going out for help).

Debris

When try to get remove yourself from your place of hiding, be aware of the debris around you. Structures may not be sound, there is loose wood, metal, nails, broken glass, etc., to bring additional harm. Be careful, but get yourself safe.

Power Lines

Be sure to watch for broken power lines or open areas where wiring may have been exposed and damaged or submerged in water.

Get to Safety

As quickly as you can, get you and your loved ones to safety. If you can, help those near you to also get to safety, without putting your children at risk.

Secure you and your family and your belongings as quickly as possible, get in contact with your families to let them know your status. Are there others that you can help? Be safe when doing so and only try to remove someone from a dangerous position if no other option is available - otherwise keep them calm, dry as possible and be with them until help arrives. Call your Insurance Company to let them know of the damage and arrange for their visit.

Be safe!

Supplies that might come in handy for Tornado Season and severe weather of any kind:

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Tornado Season usually comes with Spring in our area. We're warned as the spring thunderstorms come, so do the tornadoes. And while it's true that the 'season' is usually in the spring/early summer, the fact that twisters can happen year round actually make this a severe weather threat all year long.

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What causes lightening?

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Do you like when it storms? Some storms can be quite peaceful, with a steady rain and gentle, rolling thunder. But sometimes storms can be scary-when the wind howls, the rain beats down, the thunder booms, and bolts flash in the sky.

We've all seen and heard thunder and in a big storm, but have you ever WONDERed where comes from? Keep reading and find out!

When a thundercloud is way up in the atmosphere , the is very cold. This causes the in the to freeze. These tiny bits of bump into each other as they roll around in the air, a bit like bumper cars.

Each creates an electric charge. Eventually, the cloud's electrical charges begin to separate. Positive charges, called protons, form at the top of the cloud, while negative charges, called electrons, settle at the bottom.

The Earth's surface has a positive charge. The positive charge concentrates around anything that sticks up, whether it's a skyscraper, a mountain, a tall tree, a fence, a pole or a person standing in an empty field.

You've probably heard the expression " opposites attract," and this is definitely the case when it comes to lightning. Once enough electrons settle in the bottom of a cloud, the attraction from their negative charge and Earth's positive charge becomes too great and electrons flow toward the protons. The result is a zap of lightning.

If you've ever walked across carpet in wool socks and been shocked when you reached for a doorknob, you've already experienced the power of protons and electrons. works the same way.

flashes come in all different shapes and sizes. They carry different amounts of electrical currents. Two clouds of the same size can behave in very different ways. The amount of they produce depends on a variety of factors, such as the cloud's electrical charge, how fast is moving within the cloud, and how many crystals it contains.

Satellites have shown that, around the world, there are more than three million flashes each day. That's about 40 flashes each second! In the United States, Florida and the Rocky Mountain region get the most lightning. Worldwide, people living in countries closest to the get to watch Mother Nature light up the skies more than those living in other parts of the globe.

Though beautiful, is extremely dangerous. strikes kill approximately 2,000 people each year. Hundreds more survive, but many strike survivors have long term physical problems, and some have even lost their memory.

Roy Sullivan of Virginia holds the record as the person struck by the most times. Roy has been struck seven times, and that's probably not a record you'll want to try to top.

The best place to be when strikes is indoors. If you can't get to shelter, avoid standing near tall trees, poles, bodies of water, metal fences and bicycles. Avoid open areas like soccer fields or baseball diamonds.
Lightning facts

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Do you like when it storms? Some storms can be quite peaceful, with a steady rain and gentle, rolling thunder. But sometimes storms can be scary-when the wind howls, the rain beats down, the thunder booms, and bolts flash in the sky.

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What is a thundersnow?

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Do you get excited when the weatherman calls for snow? If you're like many kids, you might wish for several inches of snow to fall in order to earn a snow day. When you wake to see the in a thick blanket of snow, you know it's going to be a good day filled with sledding and making snowmen!

As you watch the skies outside, waiting for the first snowflakes to from the clouds, you close your eyes to enjoy the sense of and that usually precedes the snow. Suddenly, however, you sense a bright followed by a loud ! What's going on here? It's thundersnow!

Most of the time, lightning and thunder are accompanied by rain. When we see the lightning, hear the thunder, and feel the rain, we know we're in the middle of a thunderstorm. However, in certain unique conditions, lightning and thunder can form in a storm that drops snow and hail, yielding a phenomenon meteorologists call thundersnow.

In normal thunderstorms, warm, air rises from Earth's surface to create tall, narrow updrafts that can approach 40,000 feet or more. These storms that drop rain usually occur when surface temperatures are above freezing.

Storms that produce snow are quite different from thunderstorms. Instead of tall, narrow updrafts, snowstorms usually form from broad layers of flat, shallow clouds that don't usually exceed 20,000 feet. Updrafts, if they exist, are usually rather mild.

Thundersnow occurs when normal snowstorm clouds begin to develop upward bumps, known as turrets. These turrets are caused by instability within the storm system, combined with a strong lifting mechanism. For example, a strong upper-level wind can bring in cold air, pushing pockets of colder air 5,000 or more feet above the rest of the flat clouds.

Turrets formed by the lifting action of cold air currents tend to be , leading to the presence of both updrafts and downdrafts. These cold, winds create favorable conditions for precipitation to form, including snowflakes and small hailstones known as graupel.

As precipitation particles bounce into each other, they can begin to create electrical charges. When sufficient electrical charges build up, they can be discharged in the form of -to-ground or -to- lightning, which is subsequently followed by the rumble of thunder.

Thundersnow events can often be accompanied by significant snowfall, since the conditions that lead to thundersnow also tend to large amounts of snowflakes in the flat, shallow layer below the turrets. Since thundersnow develops when air near the ground is below freezing, significant accumulation is possible from thundersnow.

If you've never experienced thundersnow, it's probably because the unique conditions for it to occur don't happen everywhere or very often. The instability and lifting necessary to create thundersnow has to occur in a very narrow, shallow layer between 20,000-25,000 feet up.

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Today's Wonder of the Day features some weird and wacky weather!

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Why does it thunder?

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Why does it hail?

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What do you get when you mix in the with thunderclouds and strong winds? Many times the answer is .

Have you ever seen hailstones - sometimes tiny, sometimes large pellets of - fall from the ? If you have, you know it can be quite a sight... and sometimes dangerous.

Hailstorms are most common in the warm spring and summer months. When thunderstorms and tornadoes increase, hailstorms usually follow close behind.

Cumulonimbus clouds - those tall, threatening clouds often called "thunderclouds" - are where hailstones begin to form. The temperatures high up in these clouds can be quite cold, causing in the to change into crystals. These crystals - sometimes called "soft " or " pellets" - are called "" by meteorologists.

As forms, the crystals become heavier and begin to fall downward. When weather conditions are right for , very strong winds - called "updrafts" - will push the back up into the upper parts of the thunderclouds.

As the ascends back into the upper parts of the thunderclouds, it accumulates more and gets bigger. This process is called "." As layers of are added, the turns into hailstones that get bigger and again begin to fall toward the Earth.

When the hailstones grow big enough to overcome the power of the updrafts, they will fall to Earth as . How big hailstones get depends largely on how strong the winds are.

Updrafts of 20 miles per hour usually result in -sized (up to 0.5 inches in ), while updrafts of 40 miles per hour can make hailstones the size of quarters (up to 0.75 inches in ).

Very large hailstones require incredibly strong updrafts. the size of a golf ball (up to 1.75 inches in ) needs updrafts of about 55 miles per hour. Softball-sized (4 or more inches in ) only forms when updrafts exceed 100 miles per hour.

The largest hailstone ever recorded in the United States fell in South Dakota on July 23, 2010. It weighed 1.93 pounds and measured 8 inches in and 18.62 inches in circumference ! Can you imagine the damage that hailstone could have caused?

Hailstorms usually don't last long - only about 5 to 10 minutes - but they can cause a lot of damage in that time. In addition to damage caused to automobiles, airplanes, skylights, and roofs, also regularly destroys farmers' crops.

Far less common - but still possible - are serious injuries. can cause concussions or fatal head to people and animals if the hailstones are large enough.

Hailstorms are most common in the Great Plains states, especially northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. If a hailstorm breaks out where you live, get inside as quickly as possible and stay away from windows.

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What do you get when you mix in the with thunderclouds and strong winds? Many times the answer is . Have you ever seen hailstones - sometimes tiny, sometimes large pellets of - fall from the ? If you have, you know it can be quite a sight... and sometimes dangerous.

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Where does wind come from?

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Do you love windy days? The answer to that question probably depends upon where you are and what kind of weather you're experiencing. If you're on a tropical beach on a hot, sunny day, then a cool ocean breeze probably feels fantastic.

However, if you're walking several blocks to school on a winter morning, then a bone- breeze probably isn't welcome at all. On those days, the just makes you even colder than you already are.

If you spend much time outdoors, you already know that the comes and goes. But where does it come from? And where does it go? When it's windy, is there a giant creature in the sky blowing air your way? Is there a huge cosmic fan trying to cool you down?

Fear not! There aren't any fans or interstellar monsters creating and sending your way. is actually a simple matter of science, and it's caused by something way out in space that you're very familiar with: the Sun!

Does that seem kind of odd to you? After all, usually cools you off. How is it that the star that heats our planet is also responsible for those cooling winds? Let's take a closer look at how winds come about.

At its most basic, is simply masses of air molecules moving very quickly. The air you breathe is made up of a variety of molecules. (78%) and oxygen (21%) make up most of the air you breathe. In addition to these two elements, there is also water and a mixture of other elements.

At every moment of every day, you're surrounded by trillions upon trillions of air molecules that are moving around and colliding with each other, you, and everything else. As these air molecules bounce into and off of you, they exert a force on you that scientists call air pressure.

Scientists define air pressure as the amount of force the air molecules exert on any given area. As a general rule, the more air molecules there are, the greater the air pressure will be. Air pressure is not constant, because it varies as a result of different factors, especially temperature. These differences in air pressure are what give to .

So how does this relate to the Sun? The Sun heats Earth's surface every single day, but it doesn't do so . Earth's surface is made up of different substances at differing elevations. As a result, the air above it will be unevenly heated by the Sun. For example, the air above land heats up faster than the air above oceans and lakes.

These different air masses will have different air pressures. As air above land heats up, it expands and rises higher into the atmosphere , creating an area of lower pressure in its . The air above a nearby ocean, on the other hand, will be cooler and heavier, in higher air pressure.

As the warm air above land rises, the cooler air over the water will move quickly to fill the space left by the rising warm air. These quickly-moving air molecules are what we know as ! In general, air molecules will tend to move more quickly and create as they move from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure.

The differences in air pressure that cause most winds are small. For example, winds on a spring day might be the result of a difference in air pressures of about 1% across several states. When air pressure differences are much greater (10%, for example) over a very small area, dangerous winds can form, such as those in a tornado.

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Do you love windy days? The answer to that question probably depends upon where you are and what kind of weather you're experiencing. If you're on a tropical beach on a hot, sunny day, then a cool ocean breeze probably feels fantastic.

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Where is Tornado Alley?

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Tornadoes - sometimes called twisters - are columns of air that connect a cumulonimbus cloud with the surface of the Earth. One of the most violent of all weather phenomena, tornadoes are very dangerous and can cause massive damage.

Tornadoes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Most often, they take the form of a -shaped cloud with a narrow end touching the Earth. They are usually surrounded by large clouds of and dust.

Most tornadoes feature wind speeds under 110 miles per hour, span about 250 feet in width and only travel a few miles before dissipating . The largest, most destructive tornadoes, though, can boast wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour, span more than two miles in width and remain on the ground for dozens of miles.

Weather experts use the Fujita scale to rate tornadoes based on the damage they cause. Tornadoes can receive a Fujita scale rating from F0 to F5.

For example, an F0 - the weakest possible - can damage trees but not sturdy structures. On the opposite end of the scale, an F5 - the strongest possible - can tear buildings off their foundations and even deform huge skyscrapers.

" Alley" is a term that the media and weather experts use to refer to the area of the United States where the strongest tornadoes occur most frequently. There is no official definition of Alley, but the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains is commonly considered to define the area.

The term was first used by Jennifer Wiley in 1904. The heart of Alley consists of the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern South Dakota and the Colorado Eastern Plains. Although no state avoids tornadoes entirely, the strongest ones tend to happen in these areas.

Texas reports the most tornadoes annually, but Kansas and Oklahoma report more tornadoes per land area than even Texas. Florida also experiences a high number of tornadoes each year, although they tend to be weaker storms than those in Alley.

Weather experts believe that strong tornadoes occur so frequently in Alley because cold, dry air from Canada and the Rocky Mountains meets warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and hot, dry air from the Sonoran Desert, which is located in the southwestern part of the United States. When these air masses combine with atmospheric instability , they produce intense thunderstorms that spawn destructive tornadoes.

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Tornadoes - sometimes called twisters - are columns of air that connect a cumulonimbus cloud with the surface of the Earth. One of the most violent of all weather phenomena, tornadoes are very dangerous and can cause massive damage. Tornadoes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes.

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How do tornadoes form?

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It's a cloudy day on the Kansas plains. You and your dad keep a eye on the skies as you plow the fields. You've seen clouds like these before, and you know that they can be trouble. As the afternoon fades away, you begin to see the clouds form a wall.

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How do hurricanes get their names?

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Each year, as the summer comes to a close, hurricanes begin to appear. Hurricanes are huge storms that can sometimes be as large as 600 miles across.

Hurricanes are defined by their extremely strong winds that can blow from 75 to 200 miles per hour. Unlike tornadoes, which usually last just a few minutes or less, hurricanes can last longer than a week.

They usually travel slowly at speeds of only 10 to 20 miles per hour as they cross the oceans. These storms usually occur in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico or the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Hurricanes occur in many parts of the world, but they're not always called "hurricanes." For those of you who like words, you may be interested to know that hurricanes that form in the western Pacific Ocean are called "typhoons."

In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and Australia, these storms are called "cyclones." They're all the same type of storm, though.

Hurricanes only form over very warm ocean water (80° F or warmer). As their winds blow in the same direction at the same speed, hurricanes gather heat and energy from warm ocean waters. As warm seawater evaporates, it feeds the 's growing winds.

winds rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around a calm center, known as the "eye" of the . Even though the winds of a may be raging at its farthest reaches, the "eye" has only light winds and fair weather.

At sea, hurricanes present a real danger to boats. Their most destructive effects occur, however, when they reach land. Heavy rain, strong winds and huge waves have been known to cause catastrophic damage to buildings, trees and cars.

The huge waves that hurricanes push toward land are called a "storm ." Storm surges are extremely dangerous and often cause major flooding in coastal regions.

Even though hurricanes have existed for thousands of years, scientists have only studied them for about the last 100 years. Because of their massive size, only modern technology has allowed scientists to get a grasp on how hurricanes form and how they move.

Meteorologists classify hurricanes based on their wind speeds and potential for damage:

Category 1: 74 to 95 mph winds

Category 2: 96 to 110 mph winds

Category 3: 111 to 130 mph winds

Category 4: 131 to 155 mph winds

Category 5: 155+ mph winds

Recent hurricanes that have caused major damage in the United States include Ike and Katrina. Other past hurricanes have had names like Opal, Andrew and Fran. How do they get these names?

Hurricanes are given names so that meteorologists can identify them and track them across the oceans. Since there are sometimes multiple hurricanes at a particular time, naming them helps to avoid confusion.

Since 1979, the World Meteorological Organization has used six lists of names - both male and female - in rotation. Each list contains a name for each letter of the alphabet, except for Q, U and Z. The same lists are reused every six years.

Every once in a while, a will cause so much damage that its name goes down in the history books. Katrina is a recent example of such a destructive storm. When a storm is particularly bad, its name is retired, and a new name is added to the list.

Although hurricanes can form at any time, the season in the Atlantic Ocean is usually June 1 to November 30, with most hurricanes occurring in the fall months. The eastern Pacific Ocean season runs from about May 15 to November 30.

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Each year, as the summer comes to a close, hurricanes begin to appear. Hurricanes are huge storms that can sometimes be as large as 600 miles across. Hurricanes are defined by their extremely strong winds that can blow from 75 to 200 miles per hour.

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Do Tornadoes Always twist in the same direction?

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Are you fascinated by those powerful, destructive storms some people call twisters? What are we talking about? Tornadoes, of course!

We don't experience tornadoes in Wonderopolis very often, but when we do, watch out! They can be violent and deadly. Although some people like to study tornadoes up close, whenever we see those clouds roll in and start twisting ominously, we head for shelter as quickly as possible.

Speaking of twisting ominously, some of our Wonder Friends have been WONDERing about how twisters . Is it always in the same ? We thought that was an excellent question, so we looked into it.

The in which a twists depends a lot upon which hemisphere you're in. In general, most tornadoes in the northern hemisphere rotate cyclonically , or counter-clockwise. Only around five percent of tornadoes in the northern hemisphere rotate clockwise, or anti- cyclonically . In the southern hemisphere , however, most tornadoes rotate clockwise.

So, the simple answer to our Wonder Friends' question is no, not all tornadoes in the same all the time. In the northern hemisphere , tornadoes occasionally rotate clockwise, or anti- cyclonically . These tornadoes tend to be water spouts, non-supercell land tornadoes, or anti-cyclonic whirls around the rim of a supercell's mesocyclone . In some extremely rare cases, meteorologists have even documented cases of both cyclonic and anti-cyclonic tornadoes at the same time under the same thunderstorm.

To understand why tornadoes usually in the same , but opposite directions in the northern vs. southern hemispheres, it's helpful to know a bit about something known as the Coriolis force or . The Coriolis can be very hard to understand, so we're going to explain it in very simple terms that are relevant to our discussion of tornadoes.

In a nutshell, the Earth's rotation around its axis causes winds in the northern hemisphere to deflect to the right, while winds in the southern hemisphere deflect to the left. This is known as the Coriolis , but it doesn't directly affect all air movement no matter how small. In general, the Coriolis only directly influences the of the Earth's biggest atmospheric and oceanographic circulation systems, such as the Gulf Stream, the jet stream, trade winds, and hurricanes.

Tornadoes are too small and begin and end too quickly to be directly influenced by the Coriolis . Instead, tornadoes tend to move in the same general of the low pressure systems that cause them. In the northern hemisphere , the low pressure systems that spawn tornadoes almost always rotate counter-clockwise because of the Coriolis , so that explains how a 's movement is indirectly affected by the Coriolis .

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Do Tornadoes Always Twist in the Same Direction?

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Are you fascinated by those powerful, destructive storms some people call twisters? What are we talking about? Tornadoes, of course! We don't experience tornadoes in Wonderopolis very often, but when we do, watch out! They can be violent and deadly.

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Where is the eye of the hurricane?

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What would you think if you heard Opal, Andrew, Katrina, Hugo, Camille, and Irene were coming to town? Who are they? Long- relatives flying in for a family ?

Not quite! In fact, they're not even people at all. They're past hurricanes! Let's find out how these super storms are born.

Each year, as summer turns to fall, hurricanes begin to appear. These large storms usually occur in the southern Atlantic , Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or the eastern Pacific .

Sometimes people think hurricanes are like big tornadoes. They're actually quite different, though.

While a might cover a mile or two of ground, hurricanes are huge storms that can sometimes be as large as 600 miles across. If you look at a map of the United States, you'll see that a hurricane that large would stretch from Philadelphia to Indianapolis!

Tornadoes also usually last no more than a few minutes. Hurricanes, however, can last more than a week because they travel at speeds of only 10 to 20 miles per hour as they cross the .

Hurricanes are defined by their strong winds that can blow from 75 to 200 miles per hour. Before a becomes a hurricane, it starts out as a . storms have wind speeds between 39 and 74 miles per hour.

Even though these storms are not yet hurricanes, they can still cause damage and . Once a 's wind speeds reach or exceed 75 miles per hour, the becomes classified as a hurricane.

Not all storms become hurricanes. Wonder why? The key ingredient to forming a hurricane is warm water.

During the warmer months of hurricane season, the waters in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are the perfect temperature to create hurricanes. As warm, moist air rises from the water into the atmosphere, it creates an area of low pressure underneath.

This causes air from the surrounding areas to flow into the low pressure area. Eventually this air becomes heated and rises into the atmosphere, and the repeats itself.

In this way, hurricanes are kind of like a big engine with a constant supply of and . The "" is the cooler air that keeps the going. The "" is the warm air rising into the atmosphere.

As this continues, clouds and storms form, creating a giant, spinning .

When you look at satellite images of a hurricane, you may notice a hole at the center of the . This hole is called the " eye" of the hurricane.

As the eye passes over land, the weather becomes very calm. Once the eye passes, though, the winds begin again as the second part of the passes over.

Unfortunately, there is no way to stop a hurricane. They do tend to lose strength once they move over land.

Without warm water to continue fueling them, hurricanes will eventually diminish in size and speed until they disappear.

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There's a storm a-comin' today in Wonderopolis. Hang onto your hat!

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What Causes Thunder and Lightning? | Weather Science | SciShow Kids

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Copy of Severe Weather slides (for padlet)

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What's a Hurricane? | Weather Science | SciShow Kids

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What is a Tornado? | Weather Science | SciShow Kids

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Severe Storms: StudyJams! Science | Scholastic.com

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Severe storms are more than just rain, thunder, and lightning. This activity will teach students about the many ways that weather can become dangerous.