Cape Verde-type hurricane facts for kids
A Cape Verde-type hurricane is a powerful kind of Atlantic hurricane that starts forming near the Cape Verde islands. These islands are located off the west coast of Africa.
These hurricanes are often the strongest storms of the Atlantic hurricane season. This is because they usually have a long journey over warm, open ocean water. This long journey gives them plenty of time and energy to grow into very powerful storms before they might reach any land.
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What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is a huge, spinning storm system that forms over warm ocean waters. It has strong winds and heavy rain. Hurricanes are also known as tropical cyclones or typhoons in other parts of the world. They get their energy from the warm ocean water.
How Do Cape Verde Hurricanes Form?
Cape Verde hurricanes begin as small areas of low pressure, often from waves of energy moving across Africa. These are called tropical waves. As these waves move off the African coast and over the warm Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde islands, they can start to spin and gather moisture.
The Perfect Recipe for a Strong Storm
For a tropical wave to become a hurricane, it needs several things:
- Warm Ocean Water: The water needs to be at least 26.5 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) deep enough. This warm water provides the energy for the storm to grow.
- Moisture: Plenty of humid air is needed to fuel the storm's thunderstorms.
- Low Wind Shear: This means the winds at different heights in the atmosphere are not blowing in different directions too strongly. Low wind shear allows the storm to grow tall and organized.
The area near the Cape Verde islands often has these perfect conditions during the hurricane season.
When Do They Happen?
Cape Verde-type hurricanes usually form during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. This period is typically from mid-August through late September. However, they can sometimes form earlier or later in the season. On average, about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes develop each hurricane season.
Why Are They So Strong?
These storms have a lot of open ocean ahead of them as they move west across the Atlantic. This long path over warm water allows them to continuously gather more energy and grow in size and strength. They can become major hurricanes, which are Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.
Typical Paths of Cape Verde Hurricanes
After forming near Cape Verde, these hurricanes often travel westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Their exact path depends on many things, like high-pressure systems in the atmosphere. Some might curve north and stay out at sea, while others might continue west and threaten the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, or the United States coastline.
Images for kids
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This map shows the typical paths of Cape Verde hurricanes across the Atlantic Ocean.
See also
In Spanish: Huracán de tipo Cabo Verde para niños
