To know or not to know, that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
Hamlet, an ever curious hamster, is on a quest to learn new and interesting facts about the world around us. With a new subject each time, Hamlet explores intriguing facts that you may not have heard before. He’s bored of the same old facts about the same old things. You may feel like you already know everything there is to know about everything, but there’s a whole world out there for you to explore and unknown facts you may not already know! Why not shake things up with Hamlet’s curiosity and great sense of humour? Take this fun fact loaded adventure with him!
12 Interesting Facts about Hurricanes!
1. Hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones are all names for the same phenomenon. They’re just called by different names in different ocean basins.
2. Hurricanes are named based on a list created by the World Meteorological Organization, used on a six year rotation.
3. If a storm is particularly destructive or deadly, the WMO will “retire” that name from official lists so it’s never used again out of respect for the families of the storm’s victims and survivors.
4. The first hurricane that caused people to fly in it, occurred in 1943 during World War II.
5. Hurricane Hunters fly planes into hurricanes to gather weather data.
6. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale defines hurricane strength by categories. A Category 1 storm is the weakest hurricane with winds having speed between 74 and 95 miles per hour; while a Category 5 hurricane is the strongest with winds greater than 155 miles per hour.
7. Hurricanes that move slowly are likely to produce more rains causing more damage by flooding, than fast moving hurricanes.
8. The eye of the hurricane is a section at the center of the hurricane which has the calmest weather with clear skies and low winds.
9. The eye is surrounded by an eyewall which is the deadliest part of the hurricane. It is a towering ring of thunderstroms, high wind speed and severe weather.
10. Planet Jupiter has a hurricane which appears as a red dot on it and it has been spinning for 300 years. This hurricane is bigger than Earth itself.
11. Hurricanes need the Coriolis Force to form – which is very weak at the Equator. This is why hurricanes can not form near Equator.
12. The deadliest hurricane on record is the 1970 Bhola Cyclone in Bangladesh, which killed between 150,000 to 300,000 people.