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Hurricanes - Learning about Hurricanes for kids and children

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Hurricanes for Kids | What is a Hurricane? How are Hurricanes Formed? Learn these answers and more!

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Hurricanes | Educational Videos for Kids

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Hurricane | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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Hurricane Laura, the 12th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, early on August 27 as a Category 4 storm as emergency responders were already facing unprecedented demands due to wildfires and other ongoing disaster and recovery efforts. As the storm approached, an estimated 20 million people were in Hurricane Laura's path, and 1.5 million in Texas and Louisiana were under evacuation orders. Hurricane Laura caused a 15-foot high storm surge, dropped 10 inches of rain in some areas and produced four tornadoes.

Save the Children is the national leader in protecting children in emergencies. Our response teams have been on the front lines meeting children's most critical needs in every major U.S. disaster since Hurricane Katrina.

Here's what you need to know about Hurricane Laura, including how to help children, families and communities that could be impacted by the storm.

FAQs:

What do you need to know about Hurricane Laura?
How has Hurricane Laura affected children and families?
How does Save the Children help families and children prepare for a hurricane?
How is Save the Children responding to Hurricane Laura?
How is Save the Children's response impacted by COVID-19?
What is Save the Children's history of responding to hurricanes?
How can I help children and families impacted by Hurricane Laura?

What do you need to know about Hurricane Laura?

According to Louisiana Govenor John Bel Edwards, Hurricane Laura was the most powerful hurricane to strike the state, surpassing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Sadly, as of September 8, Hurricane Laura has been responsible for the death of 31 people in the United States, including a 14-year-old girl, as well as nearly two dozen people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Many of these deaths have been attributed to carbon monoxide posioning from generator use and heat related illness due to the high heat index which peaked at 110 degrees.

How has Hurricane Laura affected children and families?

Hurricanes can cause widespread flooding, damage vital infrastructure, including homes and schools, and impact communities for years to come.

Hundreds of thousands of people near the Gulf Coast braced for Hurricane Laura as their communities continued to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Residents in portions of the Texas and Louisiana coasts, many of them children, had been ordered to evacuate as of Tuesday, August 25.

Widespread evacuations, combined with the potential displacement of already vulnerable communities, puts children at grave risk and paves the way for one disaster to layer upon another.

How does Save the Children help families and children prepare for a hurricane?

Save the Children is the only national response agency that has children at the core of everything we do. Through the generous support of our donors, we help keep children safe before, during and after disasters strike, and are there for kids for the long term.

Our experts have compiled hurricane preparedness tips to help protect children from distress during and after disasters.

How is Save the Children responding to Hurricane Laura?

Having pre-positioned critical supplies before the storm, Save the Children's emergency response team and local program staff in Louisiana and Texas are mobilizing to deliver displaced families the essential items they need to continue to care for their children - including hygiene kits, diapers, wipes and cribs. These supplies also include masks, hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies to ensure families have what they need to stay safe in the aftermath of the storm and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

How is Save the Children's response impacted by COVID-19?

Save the Children has adapted our programs to be able to continue to deliver essential support to disaster affected vulnerable children, even during the time of COVID. In order to comply with local health guidelines and to keep our staff, volunteers and partners as safe as possible, our emergency teams have prepared response programs that, if needed, we are able to deliver in collaboration with an extensive network of local partners along the Gulf Coast.

To ensure that we are ready to help support children's needs, we've prepositioned critical personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies, including facemasks, hand sanitizer, soap and cleaning supplies. Our standard disaster supplies to help children and families, including children's program kits, hygiene supplies, diapers, baby wipes, pop-up cribs, umbrella strollers, are also prepositioned.

What is Save the Children's history of responding to hurricanes?

Just three years ago, in August 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas. The most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, Hurricane Harvey triggered epic flooding that forced families from their homes.

More than 3 million children were affected by Hurricane Harvey, which displaced over 1 million people and damaged hundreds of thousands of homes in a path of destruction that stretched more than 300 miles. Save the Children's Emergency Response Team deployed to Texas in advance of the Category 4 storm to meet children and families' immediate needs. In the days that followed, we implemented child-friendly spaces, which provided safe and protective play areas for children at seven evacuation shelters throughout the state. We also distributed thousands of child-focused supplies, including cribs, strollers diapers, books and hygiene kits to families in need.

Since 2005, we have supported more than 4 million children affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters in the U.S.

How can I help children and families impacted by Hurricane Laura?

A donation to the Hurricane Laura Children's Relief Fund will help support the urgent needs of children and families impacted by Hurricane Laura.

Learn more about Save the Children's natural disaster response and emergency relief programs across the United States.
Nobody knows when the next crisis will strike, but your support helps Save the Children provide assistance in the critical first hours and days of an emergency when children need us most. When generous people like you make your 100% tax-deductible gift, children's lives are saved and their futures are brighter.
Updated September 21, 2020

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Hurricane Laura: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help

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Hurricane Laura, the 12th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, early on August 27 as a Category 4 storm as emergency responders were already facing unprecedented demands due to wildfires and other ongoing disaster and recovery efforts.

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Knowing what to do right before and during a hurricane can help families feel more in control and take steps to increase their safety.

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The wind at the beach is whipping at 95 miles an hour. Waves 16 feet tall are crashing down. Even sharks are heading out to calmer waters. A hurricane is on its way.

These powerful storms have different names depending on where in the world they form. They're called hurricanes if they occur in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific Ocean. In the western Pacific Ocean, they're known as typhoons; in the southern Pacific and Indian Oceans, they're called cyclones.

Scientists know them all as tropical cyclones. As many as 150 occur around the world each year.

How a hurricane forms

Hurricanes are strong storms that start in the ocean and have winds of at least 74 miles an hour. In the Northern Hemisphere (the part of Earth north of the equator), hurricanes generally occur between mid-August to late October. In the Southern Hemisphere (the area south of the equator), storm season is between April and December, with peak storm activity around May and November. During these times, oceans have warmer water, which is what a hurricane needs to form.

Hurricanes begin when a tropical depression forms in the ocean. A tropical depression is a line of rain showers and weak thunderstorms that circle around an area of low air pressure. If the water is at least 79°F, a hurricane might form.

The low air pressure causes the hot, humid air from the ocean to rise in a spiral shape. As that warm air rises, it releases heat, cools down, and condenses into gusty bands of clouds and storms. The low-pressure area continues to suck up hot, moist air, and the spiral gets stronger and faster.

When winds reach 39 miles an hour, the tropical depression becomes a tropical storm. When winds reach 74 miles an hour, it's officially a hurricane.

As a hurricane moves over cooler water or hits land, it loses the warm water that fuels it and begins to weaken. But dangerous winds can still cause damage, and storm surges-when a strong storm pushes ocean water ashore-can flood coastal areas with more than 20 feet of water. Heavy rains and floods can continue far inland.

Understanding a hurricane's strength

Hurricanes are classified by wind speed and the amount of damage that scientists predict the storm will cause when it reaches land. (In the United States, this is done by the National Hurricane Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

For example, a Category 1 storm has wind speeds of 74 to 95 miles an hour and will probably damage some homes and cause a few power outages. But a Category 5 hurricane is considered a powerful, destructive storm. These storms have winds of 156 miles an hour or more and will likely cause so much damage that people must abandon their communities, which will need months to clean up.

These rankings can help predict the severity of an approaching storm, but any hurricane can be devastating. For instance, Hurricane Katrina was only a Category 3 storm when it hit the U.S. Gulf Coast around Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005. The storm caused over $100 billion in damages, and nearly 2,000 people died.

Predicting the path

Meteorologists can predict the path that a hurricane will travel-and where it will make landfall-by analyzing changes in temperature, cloud formations, and air circulation patterns. That data is gathered by specialized aircraft, satellites, and weather surveillance radar from above the Earth. Other scientific devices that float in the ocean can measure winds, waves, and air and sea temperatures.

The information from these tools is used to create computer forecasting models used by scientists to learn when a storm is forming, where it might travel, and how severe it will be. That can help local officials release warnings or even evacuation orders in order to keep people safe from the coming hurricane.

Naming hurricanes

Once a storm's wind speed reachers 39 miles an hour, it becomes a tropical storm and is given a name. The name is chosen from a list of about 20 names issued by the World Meteorological Organization at the beginning of the hurricane season. They alternate between female and male names.

But you won't see David, Katrina, Andrew, or Laura on that list-those hurricanes were so destructive that the names have been removed. And you won't hear of any hurricanes starting with Q, U, X, Y, or Z, since few names begin with those letters.

More powerful storms in the future?

In the future, scientists don't expect to see more hurricanes, but they do expect more powerful ones. That's because hurricanes get bigger more quickly in warmer water. As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, scientists predict that future hurricanes will be rainier and longer lasting.

How to survive a hurricane

The safest thing to do is to follow local instructions and leave the area, or evacuate, if officials say you should. Here are other tips for staying safe if a hurricane is headed your way.

Before a hurricane
* Know the evacuation routes in your neighborhood, and make sure your parents have put gas in the car.
* Check your yard to see if any branches are broken on trees and alert an adult if they are. (Those branches could break off and soar through a window!)
* Bring in anything that could blow away, like garbage cans and outdoor furniture.
* Close all your windows, storm shutters, blinds, and curtains.

During a hurricane
* If you haven't evacuated, stay indoors where it's safe.
* Fill all bathtubs and sinks with clean, cold water in case water lines are damaged or the supply becomes contaminated.
* Ride out the storm in an interior room, such as a hallway or closet on the lowest level of your house.
* Never go near a window, even if it's boarded up.
* If it looks like the storm is going to hit your home, lie on the floor under a table or another sturdy object.
* Limit the use of cell phones to free up space for emergency calls.

After a hurricane
* Listen to weather reports to make sure the storm has passed. A calm sky might be just the hurricane's eye, or center, and more storm fun will be on the way.
* If you evacuated, return only when officials say it's safe.
* Check all food for spoilage. Remember: If in doubt, throw it out.

Adapted from the Nat Geo Kids book Extreme Weather by Thomas Kostigen, revised for digital by Laura Goertzel

Learn more about hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones at National Geographic.

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Learn what causes these deadly storms-and how to stay safe.

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Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana on Thursday with strong winds and heavy rains. It's the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana in over 150 years, and has left behind widespread damage. Laura is now weaker, but is still causing damage as it moves on.

Hurricanes are strong storms with fast, spinning winds that form over oceans. In a hurricane, the winds spin in a circle toward the center, which is lower in pressure. As the hurricane moves across the sea, it collects water into huge spinning clouds. The water is released as rain as the hurricane hits land.

Experts have been tracking Laura since mid-August. It moved through the Caribbean as a tropical storm. Tropical storms are like hurricanes, but with slower winds. Still, the storm was strong enough to kill 25 people as it moved across Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

As it came closer to the coast of Louisiana on Wednesday, Laura gathered strength, becoming a Category 4 Hurricane - the second strongest possible. Over 500,000 people along the coast were told they needed to leave their homes.

Weather experts had predicted a massive storm surge up to 20 feet (6 meters) in height. Storm surge is a huge and sudden rise in the sea level that can push walls of seawater in from the shore for miles. Storm surges cause flooding, ruining houses and crops, and making roads unusable.

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Hurricane Laura made landfall in Cameron, Louisiana early in the morning on Thursday. With winds blowing at 150 miles per hour (240 kilometers per hour), it was Louisiana's strongest hurricane since 1856.

After hitting land, Laura moved slowly north, bringing heavy rains and flooding, and leaving a path of wrecked homes and buildings behind. All through the state, trees were knocked down, damaging houses and taking out power lines.

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For over nine hours, Laura's winds remained at hurricane speeds. Almost no area of Louisiana escaped, since the hurricane was large enough to cover nearly the whole state. Parts of eastern Texas were also affected.

Luckily, the storm surge was not as large as predicted, though it still reached heights of up to 10 feet (3 meters). Over 880,000 people were left without power, and up to 100,000 people have been left without drinking water. At least four people have died.

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In Westlake, Louisiana, a fire started at a chemical factory that was hit by the hurricane. The factory makes chlorine for swimming pools. Since chlorine is a dangerous chemical, people in the area have been told to keep their doors and windows closed, and to turn off their air conditioning.

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By Thursday afternoon, Laura had weakened back into a tropical storm, with winds of about 50 miles per hour (85 kilometers per hour). As the storm moved into Arkansas, it continued to knock down trees and bring flash floods, dropping up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain.

From Arkansas, the storm is expected to weaken further as it turns East, bringing heavy rains and wind to Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia.

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Powerful Hurricane Laura Pounds Louisiana

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Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana on Thursday with strong winds and heavy rains. It's the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana in over 150 years, and has left behind widespread damage. Laura is now weaker, but is still causing damage as it moves on.

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Science >> Earth Science for Kids

Weather - Hurricanes (Tropical Cyclones)

What is a hurricane?

A hurricane is a large rotating storm with high speed winds that forms over warm waters in tropical areas. Hurricanes have sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour and an area of low air pressure in the center called the eye.

Different Names for Hurricanes

The scientific name for a hurricane is a tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones go by different names in different places. In North America and the Caribbean they are called "hurricanes", in the Indian Ocean they are called "cyclones", and in Southeast Asia they are called "typhoons."

How do hurricanes form?

Hurricanes form over the warm ocean water of the tropics. When warm moist air over the water rises, it is replaced by cooler air. The cooler air will then warm and start to rise. This cycle causes huge storm clouds to form. These storm clouds will begin to rotate with the spin of the Earth forming an organized system. If there is enough warm water, the cycle will continue and the storm clouds and wind speeds will grow causing a hurricane to form.

Parts of a Hurricane

Eye - At the center of the hurricane is the eye. The eye is an area of very low air pressure. There are generally no clouds in the eye and the wind is calm. Don't let this fool you, however, the most dangerous part of the storm is at the edge of the eye called the eye wall.

Eye wall - Around the outside of the eye is a wall made up of very heavy clouds. This is the most dangerous part of the hurricane and where the highest speed winds are. The winds at the eye wall can reach speeds of 155 miles per hour.

Rainbands - Hurricanes have large spirally bands of rain called rainbands. These bands can drop huge amounts of rainfall causing flooding when the hurricane hits land.

Diameter - Hurricanes can become huge storms. The diameter of the hurricane is measured from one side to the other. Hurricanes can span a diameter of over 600 miles.

Height - The storm clouds that power hurricanes can become very tall. A powerful hurricane can reach nine miles into the atmosphere.

The structure of a hurricane

Where do tropical cyclones occur?

Tropical cyclones occur over the ocean in areas near the equator. This is because there is plenty of warm water in these areas to allow the storms to form. There are seven major areas in the world that tend to produce tropical cyclones. See the map below.

Locations of tropical cyclones throughout the world

When do hurricanes occur?

Hurricanes that form in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean occur between June 1st and November 30th each year. This is called hurricane season.

Why are hurricanes dangerous?

When hurricanes strike land they can cause huge amounts of damage. Most of the damage is caused by flooding and storm surge. Storm surge is when the ocean level rises at the coastline due to the power of the storm. Hurricanes also cause damage with high speed winds that can blow downtrees and damage homes. Many hurricanes can develop several small tornados as well.

How are they named?

Hurricanes in the Atlantic are named based on a list of names maintained by the World Meteorological Organization. The names go in alphabetical order and the storms are named as they appear. So the first storm of the year will always have a name that starts with the letter "A." There are six lists of names and each year a new list is used.

Categories

Tropical cyclones are categorized according to the speed of sustained winds.

Tropical Depression - 38 mph or less

Tropical Storm - 39 to 73 mph

Hurricane

Category 1 - 74 to 95 mph

Category 2 - 96 to 110 mph

Category 3 - 111 to 129 mph

Category 4 - 130 to 156 mph

Category 5 - 157 or higher mph

Interesting Facts about Hurricanes

Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. This is due to the rotation of the Earth called the Coriolis effect.

The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not used for the first letter when naming hurricanes.

The names are alternated between boy and girl names.

Weather forecasters draw a cone showing where they think the hurricane is most likely to travel.

You can always find out the latest information on hurricanes at the website of the National Hurricane Center which tracks and forecasts hurricanes.

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Science >> Earth Science for Kids

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Kids learn about hurricanes (Tropical Cyclones) including how they form, names, eye, eye wall, rainbands, locations, seasons, facts, and categories.