- computer models predict this about hurricanes: wind speed & strength, direction, beginning and possibly ending
- eye: no rain and little wind
- fujita scale: measures wind speed and damage caused by a tornado
- hurricane: a dangerous storm made up of swirling bands of thunderstorms with wind speeds of at least 119 km per hour
- safety when tornado warning given: go to the basement or a small room away from windows and outside walls
- storm surge: water pushed ahead onto shore by the winds outside the eye wall of a hurricane
- tornado: a rapidly spinning column of air that comes down out of a cloud and touches the ground
- tropical depression: a low pressure air mass that forms over warm water and has swirling winds as strong as 61 km per hour
- tropical storm: a low pressure air mass that forms over water and has swirling winds that are more than 61 kph but less than 119 km
- vortex: a spinning funnel shaped area in a fluid
- ways in which hurricanes can cause damage: high winds, storm surge, flooding, mudslides