Hurricane Creation
Hurricanes are formed over tropical oceans where there are warm waters, humid air and converging winds. It takes a lot of energy for a hurricane to be created- not to mention just the right conditions. Hurricanes start out as a group of storms that begin to rotate when they encounter converging winds.
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These storms create violent seas, stirring up even more water into the air in the form of vapor. The water vapor rises very quickly, rotating with the storms, and helping to increase the wind speed. The storms begin to organize, holding themselves together and forming a center rotation point of low pressure. When this occurs, and sustained wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storms become a hurricane. |
Click on the map above to see how a hurricane forms. |
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Cross-section of a Hurricane |
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Roll your mouse over the sections of the hurricane above for definitions of the anatomy of a hurricane. |
Some important definitions:
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- Tropical Disturbance: An organized area of thunderstorms that holds itself together for at least 24 hours. If the storms continue to develop, they may be upgraded to a tropical depression.
- Tropical Depression: A tropical cyclone (an area of low pressure that develops over tropical or subtropical waters with a definite organized surface circulation) in which the maximum sustained wind speed is 38mph or less. If this continues to develop, it may become a tropical storm.
- Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39mph to 73mph. If this continues to develop and maximum sustained winds reach 74mph, a hurricane is created.
