No matter where a hurricane strikes, from New England to the Gulf Coast, each one is capable of producing devastating coastal flooding, torrential rainfall, strong winds , and in a few instances, even tornadoes . Hurricane Bob was a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 96 to 110 mph. Hurricane Carol, in August of 1954, was a Category 3 storm, with sustained winds of 111 to 130 mph. Hurricanes occur in both the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific. In the western Pacific, these same storms are called typhoons , while in the warm oceans of the Southern Hemisphere, they are commonly referred to as cyclones.
Most hurricanes start out as a seemingly harmless cluster of thunderstorms .
Once a low pressure center develops amongst these thunderstorms, surface winds begin to increase. When they reach 25 mph, the system is declared a tropical depression . When the system begins to produce sustained winds between 39 mph and 73 mph, the system is called a tropical storm , and is officially named. When sustained winds exceed 73 mph the system is called a hurricane. Prior to the early 1950s, these powerful storms of the tropics, often were named after Saints, defined by the day that they struck.