In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of【C1】______, only about half a dozen【C2】______the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several usually【C3】______their way to the coast. There cause millions of dollars of【C4】______, and bring death to【C5】______numbers of people. The great storms that hit the coast start【C6】______innocent circling disturbances hundreds, even thousands of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water【C7】______by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the【C8】______winds. When conditions are just【C9】______, warm, moist air flows in【C10】______the bottom of such a disturbance, moves upward through it and comes out at the top. In the【C11】______, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat is converted to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the【C12】______hurricane begins to swirl in a counter-clockwise motion. The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost【C13】______power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane's rainfall in a(n)【C14】______day would【C15】______the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, not wind, is the main【C16】______of death and destruction in a hurricane. A(n)【C17】______hurricane brings 6- to 12-inch downpours【C18】______in sudden floods.【C19】______is the powerful movement of the sea—the mountains of water moving toward the low-pressure hurricane center. The water level【C20】______as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore."