A hurricane is a powerful, swirling storm that begins near the equator and works its way towards the poles. The winds of a hurricane swirl around a calm central zone called the eye surrounded by a band dark clouds called the eyewall. The eye is usually 10 to 40 miles in diameter and is free of rain and clouds. In the eyewall, large changes in pressure create the hurricane's strongest winds. These winds can reach up to 200 miles per hour. Damaging winds may extend 250 miles from the eye. Hurricanes are referred to by different labels, depending on where they occur. They are called hurricanes when they happen over the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Such storms are known as typhoons if they occur in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, west of the International Date Line. Storms that are near Australia and in the Indian Ocean are called tropical cyclones. (NASA)
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