This content requires Flash

To view this content, JavaScript must be enabled, and you need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player.

Download the free Flash Player now!

One of the most intense storms on Earth is the hurricane. It involves high speed winds that circulate about a central core of low pressure.

An average hurricane last more than a week.

This view taken from weather satellite photographs shows the typical hurricane structure in the northern hemisphere.

At the center of the storms, the low pressure core, origin of relative calm that is often free of clouds and is known as the eye of the storm.

In the high rising wall of clouds that encircles the eye, the hurricanes most ferocious wind and weather conditions are found. Spiraling counter clockwise around this eye wall are bonds of rain clouds that give the hurricane an average diameter of more than 300 kilometers.

Here, the high level out flow from the storm can be seen rotating in the direction opposite that of the rain clouds.

One of the most intense storms on Earth is the hurricane. It involves high speed winds that circulate about a central core of low pressure. An average hurricane last more than a week. This view taken from weather satellite photographs shows the typical hurricane structure in the northern hemisphere. At the center... click to read more