What's a hurricane?
A hurricane is the regional name for a tropical cyclone that forms in the North Atlantic Ocean basin. A hurricane is a rotating storm system with a low pressure center surrounded by a spiral of thunderstorms. A hurricane starts as an atmospheric disturbance that produces a weakly-organized system of thunderstorms. If conditions are ideal then the storm will strengthen into a tropical depression (a low-pressure center that has winds <39 mph) [1], a tropical storm (wind speeds between 39 and 74 mph), or a hurricane (wind speeds >74 mph)
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Certain conditions must be met for a hurricane to form. These include:
- Warm ocean water that is at least 27°C and at least 45 meters (150 feet) deep;
- Little to no wind shear (limited variation in wind speed/direction with height);
- An unstable atmosphere capable of producing strong thunderstorms is needed [2];
- A deep layer of humid air;
- Enough Coriolis force that will allow the system to develop a spinning motion is also necessary [2].
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Acknowledgements & Credits: Click here for literature cited in this section, "What's a Hurricane?" This material is based upon work supported by the Texas Department of Public Safety's Division of Emergency Management. Background photo courtesy of Mark Moran (Creative Commons license CC BY 2.0). Hurricane Structure figure courtesy of Kelvin Song (Creative Commons license CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons).
© 2019 Jennifer L. Irish & Steven M. Quiring. All rights reserved.
© 2019 Jennifer L. Irish & Steven M. Quiring. All rights reserved.