Florent Lefortier answered
Hurricanes are huge, cone-shaped storms that gather energy and force from coming into contact with warm ocean waters. They can be up to 600 miles wide and can travel at speeds up to 200mph – no wonder they do so much damage!
What Are Hurricanes And How Do They Work?
The scientific name for a hurricane is a tropical cyclone - a large scheme of spinning air rotating around a point of low pressure.
Hurricanes start when the warm, wet air coming from the ocean surface starts to quickly rise, where it then encounters cooler air, causing warm water vapor to condense and form storm clouds and rain.
The condensation warms the cool air above, thus making way for more warm moist air from the ocean below. When the cycle continues, lots of warm humid air is absorbed into the developing storm, and lots of heat is transferred from the surface of the ocean to the atmosphere.
Hurricane conditions typically occur during summer and early fall months, over tropical North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. For this reason, the hurricane "season" in the Northern Hemisphere happens from June to November.
Hurricanes are usually dark gray in color, but they look different depending on where you are in relation to them. If you’re in the eye of the hurricane (the centre) then it’ll just look like a huge storm, but if you could see it from above, it would probably look like a circular cloud formation.
The Six Stages of Hurricanes
What Are Hurricanes And How Do They Work?
The scientific name for a hurricane is a tropical cyclone - a large scheme of spinning air rotating around a point of low pressure.
Hurricanes start when the warm, wet air coming from the ocean surface starts to quickly rise, where it then encounters cooler air, causing warm water vapor to condense and form storm clouds and rain.
The condensation warms the cool air above, thus making way for more warm moist air from the ocean below. When the cycle continues, lots of warm humid air is absorbed into the developing storm, and lots of heat is transferred from the surface of the ocean to the atmosphere.
Hurricane conditions typically occur during summer and early fall months, over tropical North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. For this reason, the hurricane "season" in the Northern Hemisphere happens from June to November.
Hurricanes are usually dark gray in color, but they look different depending on where you are in relation to them. If you’re in the eye of the hurricane (the centre) then it’ll just look like a huge storm, but if you could see it from above, it would probably look like a circular cloud formation.
The Six Stages of Hurricanes
- Tropical wave – A mild, low-pressure trough that generally moves westwards.
- Tropical disturbance – A collection of heavy thunderstorms in a tropical area. Usually lasts for around 24 hours.
- Tropical cyclone – a cluster of heavy thunderstorms grouped around a low-pressure center, accompanied by heavy rain.
- Tropical depression – similar to a tropical cyclone, but with winds up to 38mph.
- Tropical storm – a cyclone where the wind speeds are consistently between 39mph and 73mph.
- Hurricane – the fiercest type of tropical storm, with winds moving faster than 74mph.
