How are typhoons and hurricanes formed?

Answer 1

Hurricanes that hit the US are formed over the Atlantic Ocean by the warm water off the tropical west coast of Africa. The warm water warms the air above it. Hurricanes start as a low pressure area, then the circling winds pick up energy from the warm moist air.

Warm air rises. The air cools as it rises, and cannot hold all its moisture. The water condenses out of the air, which is a process that gives off heat. The heat energizes the circling winds to greater speed and height, picking up more moist warm air and pushing the cycle to greater and greater strength.

Whenever a hurricane moves over land or cold water, it loses this heat engine and immediately starts to lose its strength.

It starts as a Tropical Depression and has an organized circulation, a closed system of thunderstorms and heavy clouds.

It becomes a Tropical Storm when the wind speed hits 39 miles per hour (63 km/h).

It is an official Hurricane at wind speeds of 74 miles an hour (119 km/h).

Hurricanes are called cyclones or typhoons in different parts of the world. They circle counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and go clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Answer 2

Hurricanes that hit the US are formed over the Atlantic Ocean by the warm water off the tropical west coast of Africa. The warm water warms the air above it. Hurricanes start as a low pressure area, then the circling winds pick up energy from the warm moist air.

Warm air rises. The air cools as it rises, and cannot hold all its moisture. The water condenses out of the air, which is a process that gives off heat. The heat energizes the circling winds to greater speed and height, picking up more moist warm air and pushing the cycle to greater and greater strength.

Whenever a hurricane moves over land or cold water, it loses this heat engine and immediately starts to lose its strength.

It starts as a Tropical Depression and has an organized circulation, a closed system of thunderstorms and heavy clouds.

It becomes a Tropical Storm when the wind speed hits 39 miles per hour (63 km/h).

It is an official Hurricane at wind speeds of 74 miles an hour (119 km/h).

Hurricanes are called cyclones or typhoons in different parts of the world. They circle counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and go clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Answer 3

"Hurricane" is the name given to a tropical system with winds greater than 74 mph that forms in the Atlantic or East Pacific Oceans. They can form over any part of the ocean provided the water is warm enough (at least 75-80 F) and at least a few degrees away from the equator.

Answer 4

Hurricanes are the most awesome, violent storms on Earth. They form near the equator, typically between 5 to 15 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. Hurricanes only form over really warm ocean water of 80°F or warmer. The atmosphere (the air) cools off very quickly the higher you go. Also, the wind must be blowing in the same direction and at the same speed to allow organized convection to develop. Winds flow outward above the storm allowing the air below to rise. The Coriolis Force is needed to create the spin in the hurricane and it becomes too weak near the equator, so hurricanes can never form there.

The hurricane season starts on June 1 of every year and ends on Nov 30 of every year. Actually, the term "hurricane" is used only for the large storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific Ocean.

The generic, scientific term for these storms, wherever they occur, is tropical cyclone. Other names they are given, depending on where in the world they are born, are typhoons, cyclones, severe tropical cyclones, or severe cyclonic storms. Whatever they are called, the same forces and conditions are at work in forming these giant storms, which all can cause damage or devastation when they hit land where people live.

Tropical cyclones are like engines that require warm, moist air as fuel. So the first ingredient needed for a tropical cyclone is warm ocean water. That is why tropical cyclones form only in tropical regions where the ocean is at least 80 F for at least the top 50 meters (about 165 feet) below the surface.

The second ingredient for a tropical cyclone is wind. In the case of hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean, the wind blowing westward across the Atlantic from Africa provides the necessary ingredient. As the wind passes over the ocean's surface, water evaporates (turns into water vapor) and rises. As it rises, the water vapor cools, and condenses back into large water droplets, forming large cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds are just the beginning.

Answer 5

Hurricanes form as a result of a large heat imbalance between Earth and it's atmosphere. During the Spring and Summer the Sun heats the upper portion of the ocean and a lot of heat energy builds up. The atmosphere tries to remove this large amount of heat energy through condensation.

A hurricane is basically a massive heat engine that transfers the high oceanic heat content into the atmosphere by releasing that built up heat via condensation. Once a hurricane moves onshore, it loses that energy source and weakens.

Answer 6

For a tornado to form there are two requirements:

1: Wind shear, which occurs when the wind is faster at high altitude than it is at low latitude, causing the air to roll horizontally.

2: Conditions that are good for thunderstorm development. This is usually along a front, a boundary between warm and cold air masses.

Wind shear can be picked up by the updraft of a thunderstorm and turned vertical. The storm is now a supercell, a type of thunderstorm with a powerful, rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. If conditions are right, a downdraft (called a rear-flank downdraft or RFD) can descend from the back of the storm and wrap around the mesocyclone, tightening and intensifying it. If this smaller, stronger rotation is strong enough at the ground, it is a tornado.

A Hurricane forms when an atmospheric disturbance with low pressure moves over warm, tropical waters. The warm, moist air fuels the storm and strengthens it. As it intensifies and begins to rotate, it becomes a tropical depression. When the winds reach 39 mph, it becomes a tropical storm and is given a name.

When the winds reach 74 mph it becomes a hurricane.

Answer 7

"Hurricane" is the name given to a tropical system with winds greater than 74 mph that forms in the Atlantic or East Pacific Oceans. They can form over any part of the ocean provided the water is warm enough (at least 75-80 F) and at least a few degrees away from the equator.

They most frequently develop in the Atlantic either from waves coming off Africa, or from disturbances in the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico where the water is very warm. In the East Pacific, they tend to form off the west coast of Mexico.

Answer 8

To understand how hurricanes are formed, first we should understand the term hurricane. hurricanes are violent storms that originate over warm, tropical seas. It is most dangerous natural hazards in terms of its frequentcy and number of death, especially because 75% of world's population is densly populated within 100km from the coasts. It is also known as tropical cyclones or typhoons in different parts of the world.

As defined, more than 80% of hurricanes are found within the lattitude 5-15 degrees North and South from the equator, during the 'hot' seasons, that is, June to October in northern hemisphere and December to May in southern hemishpere.

This explains why hurricanes are very rarely found in mid-lattitudes, because there is insufficent heating for intense instability for air mass to rise and evaporate.

There are several conditions required in order for hurricanes to form. Warm ocean water that is at least 26 degrees celcius to a depth of 70meters. When ocean surfaces is heated up, air mass becomes unstable and rises, developing areas of low pressure. As unstable air rises, easterly tradewinds that blows converges towards these low pressure celss. This convergence, together with rising unstable air causes upward movement of air. As air converges and rises, the Coriolis force causes the winds to rotate, and spin. This is essentially hurricanes - as it is essentially an area of low pressure with conveging and ascending air.

This explains why hurricanes are not found near equators, because there is weak Coriolis force near the equator - air simply cant spin. Coriolis force also explains why hurricanes found in northern hemisphere always rotates anti-clockwise and always clockwise in southern hemisphere - this is because Coriolis force deflects winds to right in northern hemisphere, left in soutern hemishpere.

Moreover, because of its location, hurricanes generally follow the path of easterly trade winds.

But, how does thiese hurricanes become so destructive?

Because of the intense heating of the ocean, air is very moist. As air rises, it cools adiabetically, condesnes and discharges its water vapour. At the same time, latent heat is released by evaporation. This will cause air to remain even warmer, fueling greater instability. This instability then will force air up even high as long as heating remains over the ocean. Now we have high energy, high velocity desturctive winds with very intense rainfall. a destructive hurricane.

So that is how hurricanes are formed.

Answer 9

Typhoons and hurricanes are both the same thing, strong tropical cyclones, only in different parts of the world. Such storms start out as disorganized clusters of thunderstorms called tropical disturbances. These systems are fueled by moisture that evaporates from warm ocean water. As they strengthen low pressure develops and draws air inward. As a consequence of earth's spin this inflowing air will acquire a bit of a spin. Since the terms hurricane and typhoon apply to tropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere this spin will be counterclockwise.

As the system strengthens and pulls in air, the rotation becomes more organized. When it develops a closed circulation and an identifiable center of rotation it is termed a tropical depression, the weakest type of tropical cyclone. As it feeds on more moisture and strengthens the winds increase. When winds reach 39 mph it is deemed a tropical storm. If winds reach 58 mph and the storm is in the western Pacific Ocean then it is deemed a severe tropical storm. Finally when winds hit 74 mph, a tropical storm in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific is deemed a hurricane while one in the western Pacific is deemed a typhoon.

Answer 10

Hurricanes develop off the West Coast of Africa.