According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "hurricane" is a region-specific name, which is given to a tropical storm that normally forms over the North Atlantic, and Northeast and South areas of the Pacific Ocean. The official hurricane season takes place during a period of six months, from June through November. To be categorized as a hurricane, the wind speed of the storm must reach 74 mph, and speeds have been known to reach over 155 mph. Tropical storms, which occur over the Northwest Pacific Ocean, are called typhoons, and Cyclones are found over the Indian and Southwest Pacific Oceans.
Necessary Conditions for Hurricanes to Form
- 80 degree, or warmer, water temperature, which is at least 150 feet deep
- A low pressure area with wind disturbance
- A lack of stability in the air, which allows clouds to develop
- A centrifugal force, known as a Coriolis Force, stemming from the earth's rotation
- Moist air, i.e., a thunderstorm, in the lower portion of the atmosphere
- Low level winds, with directional changes, known as wind shear
How Hurricanes are Formed
Hurricanes do not always follow the given set of normal criteria to form and produce their destructive forces. Much information has come from extensive analysis, but scientists and meteorologists do not yet fully comprehend all the factors which are necessary for the creation of the violent storms.
Generally, a hurricane begins its formation when a storm passes over a body of 80 degree or higher water. The warm ocean air rises above the water, leaving less air close to the surface. This movement creates an area of lower pressure. Cooler high-pressure air moves in, heats up, and also begins to rise. Moisture condenses in the warm air, as it ascends, causing energy and more heat to be released. The heat causes the low pressure area to increase, which allows the formation of clouds and turbulent winds. The air spins, due to the rotational forces of the Coriolis force near the equator, as well as from the heat which has built up from the condensation of moisture. The force of the spinning motion also causes the hurricane to move along its path.
Hurricane Dissipation
A hurricane will rapidly decrease and fall apart, when it is deprived of the driving force of the warm water from which it is fueled. This deprivation occurs when the storm moves over warmer land, or water with a temperature of 79.7 degrees or less.
Hurricanes and cyclonic storms can be devastating and deadly, however, despite the frequency of the conditions necessary for their formation, their manifestation is not as commonplace as one would suspect.
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