This book combines exciting history with simple science to tell the story of hurricanes and their impact on people. Beginning with the tale of how Japan was twice saved from invasions by typhoons (as hurricanes are called in that part of the world), it describes Columbus' encounters with hurricanes and how we have borrowed the word hurricane from the original West Indian people.

The book shows how, over the past 300 years, amateur and professional scientists have unraveled the secrets of these devastating storms. It explains how and why — despite the science of the times — a hurricane destroyed most of Galveston, Texas in 1900. It ends with a family of survivors' tale of Hurricane Andrew, the single most damaging hurricane in western history, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Florida and Louisiana in 1992.

Readers need little prior knowledge to enjoy this book. In learning about hurricanes, they will also learn the basic ideas about how all weather is created.

Guided Reading Level: M