Hurricane Facts

For those of you who may not have the time to read our hurricane awareness pages (this should be a signal that you’ve over extended yourself), here is a condensed version of the information contained at present on National-Hurricane-Center along with links to additional hurricane facts.

  1. Hurricanes are the largest storm systems in the world.
  2. A tropical depression is considered a tropical storm when sustained winds are at 39 miles per hour and becomes a hurricane when sustained winds are at 74 miles per hour.
  3. A typhoon and a hurricane are the same things. Typhoons are hurricanes in the Western Pacific.
  4. 59% of all hurricane related deaths are from inland flooding (see 5 Deadliest Hurricane Mistakes).
  5. A hurricane’s outer bands can create hurricane spawned tornadoes.
  6. FEMA recommends a minimum of 3 days worth of emergency supplies for riding out a hurricane, so get your hurricane checklist ready.
  7. Hurricane Katrina is most expensive hurricane to have hit the United States thus far.
  8. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the federal agency from which we get the National Weather Service.
  9. The fact is, Cyclones are simply a system of winds rotating rapidly into an area of low pressure.
  10. The deadliest hurricane of modern times was the Great Bhola Cyclone that hit East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1970.
  11. The highest storm surge to strike a U.S. coastline came with Hurricane Katrina and struck Mississippi.
  12. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the deadliest in United States history, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals.
  13. Hurricane insurance usually only covers wind damage. To be completely covered when you file an insurance claim for hurricane damage, you should get flood insurance as well.
  14. Of 20 types of hurricane damage, blown in garage doors contribute to more structural damage than any other.

To learn more about these amazing, and often terrifying storms, visit the rest of National-Hurricane-Center’s pages for interesting and eye-opening hurricane facts.