This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

A Smashing Storm

The sea turned angry. winds howled at 130 miles per hour. Rooftops flew and boats were smashed to matchsticks as Hurricane Luis swept across the Caribbean Sea last week.

The storm hit hardest in some of the Caribbean's most popular tourist spots: the beautiful islands of Antigua, Saint Martin, Barbuda and Anguilla. Whole neighborhoods were flattened. At least 19 people died, and hundreds were still missing when the storm moved on.

"We saw pieces of buildings fly past our windows," said Jochim Marroquin-Nisch, a German tourist stranded on Saint Martin. Rescuers had to wait two days for Luis' harsh rains to die down before starting to work. People on the islands were left with no electricity and little fresh food and water.

Luis is the sixth hurricane to cross the Atlantic Ocean this year. There haven't been so many storms so early in the hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) since 1933. Why is this season so severe? Mostly because the ingredients for building hurricanes--winds, ocean temperatures, weather patterns--are all in place.

Caribbean hurricanes are born in Africa. When hot, dry air from Africa's Sahara desert meets cool, moist air from the Sahel region south of it, little storms are created. They drift west to the Atlantic and often remain simple storms.

But sometimes when the high clouds move over warm tropical waters and suck up moisture, a column, or "eye," forms in the center. This column causes the storm to spin counterclockwise. Warm winds and the high speed of the earth's rotation near the equator make the storm spin faster. When winds reach 75 miles per hour or more, the storm is considered a hurricane.

It may take years for Caribbean islanders to recover from Hurricane Luis. But even as they rebuild, they know another storm may strike. In fact, the next big hurricane may be brewing off the coast of Africa right now.

---

A Bad Year For Storms
Hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean get their start in Africa. They are shaped by many factors. Here's why 1995 is turning out to be so stormy.

El Niņo
El Niņo is a parrern of winds and warm currents that travel east across the Pacific. A strong El Niņo helps break up hurricanes, but this year it is weak.

Spring weather conditions in the Caribbean
This year's warm sea and low atmospheric pressure tend to make hurricanes stronger.

Winds above the equator
Upper and lower winds have been blowing in the same direction. This makes storms form.

West African rainfall
Wet weather in the African Sahel over the summer means a greater chance of hurricanes now.

Next: Perfect Attendance