A hurricane is a huge and powerful destructive storm with very strong winds that occurs _1_ in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean. The winds usually have a circular movement.
Hurricanes _2_ when warm, moist air from the ocean surface begins to rise rapidly, where it meets cooler air. A storm becomes a hurricane then wind speeds become _3_ than 74 miles per hour.
Hurricanes are given names by the World Meteorological Organization, which uses different sets of names _4_ on the part of the world the storm is in. Every year the organisation compiles a list of names from A to W that will be used for that year's tropical storms and hurricanes. The list of names _5_ from male to female names. i.e in 2012 the listed started with Alberto (letter A, boy’s name) and was followed by a female 'B' name, Beryl. This year the 18th storm to receive a name was Sandy (letter S, female name). The next storm will be called Tony (letter T, male name).
Hurricane Sandy hit the Bahamas, the Eastern United States, and Eastern Canada this week. Sandy's _6_ on the United States affected at least 22 states with New York being suffering some of the worst damage. In New York City, 18 people have been killed and the flooded subway _7_ closed until further notice. Flooding forced the closure of all three of the major airports in the area, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty.
On Tuesday, the storm moved toward the Midwest, much weaker than it was when it made landfall in New Jersey on Monday night.
Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane in diameter on record; its winds stretched approximately 1,100 miles from end to end.
moist - a little wet.
rapidly - quickly.
compiles - creates, gathers.
suffering - to experience something unpleasant, painful.
flooded - past form of 'flood' - to cover land with water.
landfall - the land that you see or arrive at first after a journey by sea or by air.
Now choose the correct missing words to complete the text:
