what is one condition necessary for a hurricane to form
How Does a Hurricane Form?
Hurricanes are the most violent storms on Earth. They form nigh the equator over warm ocean waters. Really, the term hurricane is used only for the large storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific Sea.
The generic, scientific term for these storms, wherever they occur, is tropical cyclone. Other names they are given, depending on where in the globe they are born, are typhoons, cyclones, severe tropical cyclones, or astringent cyclonic storms. Whatever they are called, the aforementioned forces and conditions are at work in forming these giant storms, any of which tin crusade damage or destruction when they hitting land where people live.
Tropical cyclones are like engines that require warm, moist air every bit fuel. And so the outset ingredient needed for a tropical cyclone is warm ocean water. That is why tropical cyclones grade only in tropical regions where the sea is at to the lowest degree fourscore degrees F for at least the top l meters (about 165 feet) beneath the surface.
The second ingredient for a tropical cyclone is wind. In the instance of hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Sea, the current of air bravado westward beyond the Atlantic from Africa provides the necessary ingredient. As the wind passes over the sea's surface, water evaporates (turns into h2o vapor) and rises. As it rises, the h2o vapor cools, and condenses back into big water droplets, forming big cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds are just the kickoff.
NOAA'due south GOES-East weather satellite zoomed in on the eye of Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. Credit: NOAA
Meteorologists have divided the development of a tropical cyclone into four stages: Tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, and full-fledged tropical cyclone.
- Tropical disturbance
When the water vapor from the warm body of water condenses to form clouds, it releases its heat to the air. The warmed air rises and is pulled into the cavalcade of clouds. Evaporation and condensation continue, building the cloud columns higher and larger. A blueprint develops, with the wind circulating around a center (like h2o going down a drain). As the moving column of air encounters more than clouds, it becomes a cluster of thunderstorm clouds, called a tropical disturbance.
- Tropical depression
Every bit the thunderstorm grows higher and larger, the air at the top of the cloud column is cooling and becoming unstable. Every bit the heat free energy is released from the cooling h2o vapor, the air at the height of the clouds becomes warmer, making the air pressure higher and causing winds to movement outward away from the high pressure surface area. This movement and warming causes pressures at the surface to driblet. And then air at the surface moves toward the lower pressure area, rises, and creates more thunderstorms. Winds in the storm cloud cavalcade spin faster and faster, whipping effectually in a circular motion. When the winds reach between 25 and 38 mph, the storm is called a tropical low.
- Tropical storm
When the current of air speeds reach 39 mph, the tropical depression becomes a tropical storm. This is as well when the storm gets a name. The winds accident faster and brainstorm twisting and turning effectually the eye, or calm middle, of the tempest. Wind direction is counterclockwise (w to east) in the northern hemisphere and clockwise (e to west) in the southern hemisphere. This phenomenon is known as the Coriolis consequence.
- Hurricane
When the wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm is officially a hurricane. The tempest is at least 50,000 anxiety high and around 125 miles across. The eye is around 5 to 30 miles wide. The merchandise winds (which blow from east to west) push the hurricane toward the west—toward the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the southeastern coast of the U.S. The winds and the low air force per unit area besides crusade a huge mound of body of water water to pile upwards near the eye of the hurricane, which tin can cause monster storm surges when all this h2o reaches land.
Hurricanes commonly weaken when they hit land, because they are no longer existence fed by the energy from the warm body of water waters. Nevertheless, they oftentimes move far inland, dumping many inches of rain and causing lots of wind impairment before they die out completely.
Lastly, what are the five categories of hurricanes?
Hurricane categories:
| Category | Wind Speed (mph) | Damage at Landfall |
|---|---|---|
| i | 74-95 | Minimal |
| two | 96-110 | Moderate |
| 3 | 111-129 | All-encompassing |
| 4 | 130-156 | Extreme |
| 5 | 157 or higher | Catastrophic |
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Source: https://scijinks.gov/hurricane/
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