Hurricanes are tropical cyclones whose winds reach speeds greater than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour. In large hurricanes, wind speeds can reach over 190 miles (289 kilometers) per hour.  Storms that occur over the North Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes; those in the West Pacific are typhoons, and in the Indian Ocean tropical cyclones. 

Hurricanes start as a collection of storms over the oceans.  As low pressure, moist air and energy from the ocean's surface feeds them, they mature and develop higher wind speeds with curling clouds.   Hurricanes tend to affect areas within a 500-mile diameter, and they last around 30 days.

Between June and November of each year, an average of six tropical storms mature into hurricanes along the east coast of North America, often over the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico. Two of these storms will typically become major hurricanes (categories 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale..) One to three hurricanes typically approach the U.S. coast annually, some changing their direction from west to northeast as they develop; as many as six hurricanes have struck the United States in one year.
Hurricanes cause property damage and loss of life primarily through high winds. They also cause flooding resulting from the ocean's storm surge and from the torrential rains that accompany the storm.

The deadliest U.S. hurricane was the 1900 Galveston storm, which killed 8,000-12,000 people and destroyed the city. Subsequent storms caused economic damage to the Texas Gulf Coast, including Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Perhaps the best contemporary examples of a natural hazard becoming a natural disaster in the U.S. is Hurricane Katrina (2005), the storm that killed about 1200 people, devastated the parts of the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts, flooded New Orleans and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.  

The storm confounded and affected so many people (including residents of Montgomery County) that it serves as a permanent reminder for governments to examine vulnerabilities and work toward preparedness.

For information about how to prepare for hurricanes and other natural hazards, consult the Montgomery County Emergency Management web site: www.co.montgomery.tx.us/mctxoem