hurricane

Other forms: hurricanes

A hurricane is a severe tropical storm with high winds and heavy rain. When a hurricane comes through your town, you should board up the windows and stay inside.

Hurricanes have sustained winds that rotate in a circle, which is why they are often referred to as cyclones. The worst hurricane in recent years in America was Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005 and devastated the city. The word hurricane comes from the Spanish word huracan. Interestingly, the Old English dictionary has 39 spellings for the word based on English-Spanish-Portuguese hybrids.