The formation of a hurricane is complicated, but basically, it depends on three factors. First, you need warm water, at least 80 degrees. The second ingredient is moist air. And finally, there needs to be converging winds for a hurricane to form.
The actual process begins with a cluster of thunderstorms moving across the surface of the ocean. When the surface water is warm, the storm sucks up heat energy from the water, just like a straw sucks up a liquid.
However, they often move far inland, dumping many inches of rain and causing lots of wind damage before they die out completely. The two GOES satellites keep their eyes on hurricanes from far above Earth's surface—22, miles above, to be exact!
Learn more about this kind of orbit. These satellites, built by NASA and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA , save lives by helping weather forecasters predict and warn people where and when these severe storms will hit land. Skip to main content.
How do Hurricanes Form? Informal , General. Whatever they are called, tropical cyclones all form the same way. A cumulonimbus cloud. A tropical cyclone has so many of these, they form huge, circular bands. If you could slice into a tropical cyclone, it would look something like this. The small red arrows show warm, moist air rising from the ocean's surface, and forming clouds in bands around the eye. The blue arrows show how cool, dry air sinks in the eye and between the bands of clouds.
The warmer the temps, the more moisture or fuel for the storm. Once a hurricane moves over land, its fuel is cut off and the storm begins to weaken.
The second ingredient is a pre-existing spin or area of low pressure. The third ingredient is light vertical wind shear. This allows the thunderstorms to grow tall and not be sheared apart by strong winds.
So now it's time to talk about how hurricanes form. Hurricanes form when warm moist air over water begins to rise. The rising air is replaced by cooler air. This process continues to grow large clouds and thunderstorms. These thunderstorms continue to grow and begin to rotate thanks to earth's Coriolis Effect. The thunderstorms will rotate counterclockwise in the north hemisphere around the center which is called the eye. The eye is an area of descending air which produces light winds and dry conditions.
The strongest winds will be located just outside the eye in the eye wall. Let's talk about tropical classifications. A tropical Depression is an area of low pressure with a closed center of circulation and sustained winds less than 39mph. A Tropical Storm is when that area of low pressure continues to deepen and has winds between mph.
This is when a storm gets a name! Hurricane Names come from the World Meteorological Organization and are on a 6 year rotating list which alternates between male and female names. A hurricane is a strong area of low pressure with rotating thunderstorms close to its center of circulation. Winds are at least 74mph. There are many dangers associated with hurricanes including storm surge flooding, strong winds and tornadoes.
Hurricanes will generally be steered by the upper level wind currents.
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