PART B

Hurricanes and tornadoes are both damaging windstorms, but they are very different phenomena. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone with sustained winds that exceed 74 mph and accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning. A tornado is defined in the dictionary as "a rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile and whirling at destructively high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud".

Since both hurricanes and tornadoes are different, there are some aspects which differentiate them. First, hurricanes form over warm water in the tropical oceans and develop best when far from the jet stream. Meanwhile, tornadoes form over land and form within storms that are often very close to the jet stream. Second is about the sizes. For hurricanes, it can be up to several hundred miles wide, whereas, the size of tornadoes is usually no more than mile wide. Hurricanes can last up to three weeks and the strong of the winds are usually less than 180 mph. For tornadoes, it is usually last no more than an hour and the most severe ones can be up to 300 mph. Strong winds are usually produced by differences in pressure. The greater the pressure differences over a given distance, the faster the winds. Tornadoes produce a pressure drop similar to or even greater than that off a hurricane and over a much shorter distance.

Besides that, about the occurrence, in the Atlantic Ocean, hurricanes occur about five or six times a year in 10 tropical storms. The United States records about 1200 tornadoes per year, whereas the Netherlands records the highest number of tornadoes per area compared to other countries. Tornadoes occur commonly in spring and the fall season and are less common in winters. As we know, both of them are damaging windstorms, so forecasters will release the advance warning to warn the people. Usually, hurricanes can be predicted several days earlier, and tornadoes can be predicted no more than 15-30 minutes earlier.

In short, tornadoes come from powerful thunderstorms and the winds can reach 300 miles per hour. Moreover, the ability to predict the storm is limited compared to hurricanes. Since it is formed over land, so its shape is funnel-shaped cloud. For hurricanes, it is formed over water and the best thing about this type of windstorm is it can be predicted and tracked. Nevertheless, it can cause storm surges, heavy rains and even tornadoes.

Even though hurricanes are different from tornadoes, there are slightly similarities between them both. First, both are violent storms. They are damaging winds because both produce very strong wind. Furthermore, both tornadoes and hurricanes produce intense low pressure.

As a conclusion, wherever we are, we have to always prepare for hurricane and tornadoes. People usually have days to prepare since forecasters has release the warning. Move to another secure place is one of the initiatives. As the old saying, prevention is better than cure.

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