Parts of a Hurricane

• Eye - the low-pressure, calm center of circulation
• Eye wall - area around the eye with the fastest, most violent winds
• Rain bands - bands of thunderstorms circulating outward from the eye that are part of the evaporation/condensation cycle that feeds the storm

For an interesting look at the anatomy and birth of a hurricane, see Hurricane Creation. Also, you can Create a Hurricane and experiment with the various factors that affect hurricane formation.

Hurricane Size

Hurricanes vary widely in physical size. Some storms are very compact and have only a few trailing bands of wind and rain behind them. Other storms are looser, so the bands of wind and rain spread out over hundreds or thousands of miles. Hurricane Floyd, which hit the eastern United States in September 1999, was felt from the Caribbean islands to New England.

Photo courtesy NASA/GSFC Hurricane Floyd was a Category 3 storm that brought intense rains and record flooding to the eastern United States and Canada. Nearly 90 percent of the fatalities associated with this storm were drownings due to inland flooding.

Photo courtesy National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Bertha (July 1996) was also a Category 3 storm, but Bertha's power and impact were contained in a much smaller area than Floyd's.

Next, we'll see what determines the category of a hurricane.