What you need to know about hurricanes

AUSTIN (KXAN) - What is a hurricane?

A hurricane or typhoon is a system with sustained winds of at least 74 mph. A storm of this intensity tends to develop an eye, an area of relative calm at the center of circulation. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds circulate around the storm's center. Maximum sustained winds in the strongest hurricanes have been estimated at about 195 miles per hour.

Tips for how to prepare for a hurricane (from FEMA)

• Listen to a radio or television for weather updates and stay in touch with your neighbors about evacuation orders.
• Plan a place to meet your family in case you are separated during a disaster. Choose a friend or relative out of state for your family members to call to say they are OK.
• Assemble your disaster supplies kit. Store extra water now! Check to make sure you have enough food.
• Storm shutters are the best protection for windows. If your house does not have them, help an adult board up windows with 5- to 8-inch marine plywood. Tape does not prevent windows from breaking
• Bring in outside furniture. An adult should remove roof antennas, if they can do so safely.
• Help an adult shut off your utilities -- water, electricity and gas.
• Make sure there is gas in the car and you are ready to evacuate immediately, if you are told to do so.
• If you don’t need to evacuate, be sure to stay indoors during a hurricane. You could be hit by flying objects. Don’t be fooled if there is a pause in the wind. It could be the eye of the storm, and the winds will come again.
• Avoid using the phone except for an emergency so the phone lines can stay open for others.
• If you do evacuate, do not go back home until local officials say it is safe.
• Hurricanes can be very scary. If you are scared, be sure to talk to someone about it.

When is hurricane season?

Once May rolls around, the Caribbean is affected by hurricanes. The official Pacific and Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 until Nov. 30, but hurricanes have been known to hit outside of these approximated dates. You can track the recent hurricanes here.

Historical hurricanes

The Great Hurricane of 1780 is the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, killing about 22,000 people in the Lesser Antilles.

Hurricane Katrina is estimated as the costliest tropical cyclone worldwide, with overall damage estimates exceeding $100 billion. Katrina killed at least 1,836 people after striking Louisiana and Mississippi as a major hurricane in August 2005. Hurricane Andrew is the second most destructive hurricane in U.S history, with damages totaling $40.7 billion. Hurricane Ike is the third most destructive hurricane in U.S history, which hit the Texas coast. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster in the United States, killing an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people in Galveston.

Global warming's effect on hurricanes

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, "the strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Studies have shown that hurricanes are getting stronger, particularly over the North Atlantic and the Indian oceans

The direct link between hurricanes and global warming is consistently debated. The one point of agreement is that seasons cannot be completely attributed to global warming.

How to explain hurricanes to kids

When a large storm is approaching, it can be scary for a parent to try to communicate the gravity of a natural disaster. It is important to mention that hurricanes are storms that cause heavy rain, strong winds and sometimes big waves that can damage buildings, trees, cars and hurt people. To avoid getting injured, it is important to leave an area where a hurricane is about to hit.

Sources to compile this report came from NOAA, the National Weather Service, the United States Naval Research Laboratory, FEMA, the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the American Meteorological Society.