Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Hurricanes: Storms of the sea
Nonfiction
For ages 10 and up
The Creative Company, 2003 ISBN: 978-1583410202
No matter what you call them, whether the word is hurricane, typhoon, or willy-willie, all hurricanes are tropical cyclones. If the wind speeds of the storm are less than 75 miles per hour then the storm does not qualify as a hurricane. These phenomena are born over the warm waters of oceans. The heat acts as the fuel for such storms, creating low pressure cells which grow into a spiral formation with an eye at its center. Though this eye is an area of low pressure calm with no winds or rains it also is the reason why sea levels often rise considerably during hurricanes. It is a calm which can cause an enormous amount of damage.
In addition to describing how hurricanes form and how they impact people, the author also explains how forecasters use various tools to try to predict what a hurricane is going to do. Satellite images make it easier to understand these dramatic storms but there is still much to learn about them. The author describes what happened when Hurricane Camille hit the Gulf coast of the United States and how this was one of the strongest hurricanes to hit this part of the world.
In this extremely well written book readers will not only learn about hurricanes and their ilk but they will also learn a great deal about weather in general. Thus readers will find out what creates wind, why cyclones have a spiral shape, and much more. Fabulous annotated photographs accompany the text and at the back of the book readers will find an activity that they can try for themselves and a description of the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.
This is one of the titles in the Lifeviews series.
