Nature's Fury

Living on the eastern seaboard, hurricanes have affected my life from June to November every year. Hurricanes are deadly storms that take the lives of thousands of people every year. Over time, they have become more predictable but, their lethal force has not lessened at all. We now understand, through the advancement of technology, why hurricanes occur but, none the less, their natural beauty is matched only by the massive destruction they cause.

Hurricanes are described by meterologists as storm systems with a low pressure center and numerous surrounding thunderstorms with strong winds. Hurricanes affect most of the eastern seaboard in the United States and the islands in the Pacific. They form in a weather band in the Atlantic Ocean that gives them their wind strength and, as they pass over water, they gain strength until they unleash their fury on the land. Hurricanes are one of the strongest weather storms. Not only can they produce Gale force winds, but they can spawn tornadoes, and produce high waves close to the effects on a small tsunami. Their fury is so strong that not only is their storm destructive but they can help to create some of the most furious other weather storms.

Every year in Maryland, we are destined to get a hurricane. No matter how good the weather may seem, at least once a year the clouds will open and decide to dump a bucket full of water on us while adding in the ridiculous wind. To me, hurricanes are more of a nuisance than anything else. They are loud and annoying as the rain pelts against the side of my house. It’s like someone is shooting a bb gun at the side of my window, so loud that I can’t even hear myself think. Sooner or later the winds die down and the rain subsides, but for those few hours where the weather is unbearable it’s like a hell on earth. Everything has to stop because, nothing productive can get done during a hurricane.

Luckily, I have never been too unfortunate as to encounter a hurricane of great ferocity head on. In Maryland, most of the affects of hurricanes are the outskirts of the storm. We don’t get hit directly, so we only feel about forty percent of the true force of hurricanes. It is hard for me to imagine those who are more affected by hurricane destruction; like those in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. In Maryland, hurricanes are a factor when they come, but they do not affect our lives enough to where our lifestyle has to adapt to the hurricane season. Hurricanes are so influential in the Gulf Coast that people have to rearrange their life around hurricane season.
Hurricanes are no laughing matter; they affect thousands of people every year. Even smallest of hurricanes can cause catastrophic damage. Although we can predict hurricanes and we like to think that we can minimize their damage, we must respect nature’s power. Sometimes there are things in nature that are larger than us and we must be able to accept defeat and do our best to withstand them.