Several questions regarding winds and hurricanes as of 9:00am EST 2/14/2000
                 are answered below. Hope this helps! -C. Duvall Rutgers Univ. Meteorologist 

                 A. Wind- 

                 1. Related to weather: 

                 Temperature, pressure, and wind are all related to each other. Whenever you see
                 a difference in temperature on a weather map, you will see a difference in
                 pressure in the same spot. In general, WARM air tends to have a LOWER
                 pressure than cold air. 

                 Wind occurs between warm and cold air to balance them out. The bigger the
                 difference in temperature (or pressure), the stronger the wind. 

                 2. Related to trees: 

                 Trees are one of nature's ways to slow down the wind on the surface of the
                 Earth. Farmers who do not want their soil to drift away will plant a line of trees
                 around their fields to help cut down on the wind. 

                 Try this: Take a tissue and lay it flat on the edge of a table. Blow gently at it, and
                 it moves very easily. Now take a comb with lots of "teeth" and try to blow
                 through the comb to move the tissue. Harder, isn't it? 

                 Trees help to keep winds at the surface under control by slowing them down, just
                 as the "teeth" on the comb get in your way when you try to blow the tissue. 

                 This is why winds are usually stronger in a field than in a forest- there is nothing to
                 block the wind. Hills and mountains can block the wind as well. For example, the
                 Rocky Mountains weaken weather systems coming from the Pacific Ocean
                 because they get in the way of the winds. 

                 B. Hurricanes- 

                 1. Story- 

                 I have been through one hurricane and several tropical storms, living near the
                 Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey. 

                 The worst was Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999, because it rained SO
                 hard for SO long that the water could not drain fast enough and there was the
                 worst flooding ever in places near my town. 

                 Some people had EIGHT FEET of water around their house before it drained
                 away- they would have had to swim to get down to the first floor! 

                 2. Related to weather: 

                 It is important for meteorologists to fly into tropical storms and hurricanes to
                 measure around the eye. 

                 The storm around the eye is the worst part because the pressure in the eye is
                 much lower than the air around it, so the wind is howling around the eye to
                 balance everything out. The lower the pressure in the eye, the stronger the winds
                 will be around it. 

                 Hurricanes begin as "tropical" storms, so keep in mind that they like warm water
                 to keep them going. 

                 If they like warm water and are made up of strong winds, guess what helps to
                 break up hurricanes? Yup. Cold air and mountains. So they could move too far
                 away from the Equator and hit cold water, or slam into land where all of the trees
                 and hills help to slow down the wind. 

                 Remember, the worst part about hurricanes is flooding, especially if they move
                 slowly and dump their rain over one area. Floyd moved at an average speed over
                 New Jersey, and still gave us some record rainfall. I would still be in a boat today
                 if it had stopped over New Jersey! 

                 The really strong winds are bad, too, but the water usually causes more damage
                 in the end, especially near rivers and oceans. 

                 Good questions everyone! Keep 'em coming!