Hurricanes how do they form

See more extreme weather pictures. The best defense against a hurricane is an accurate forecast that gives people time to get out of the way.

The National Hurricane Center issues hurricane watches for possible storms within 48 hours and hurricane warnings for expected storms within 36 hours. Climate change may be driving more frequent, more intense extreme weather, and that includes hurricanes. The hurricane season was one of the most active on record, with 22 major hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere in under three months, and also saw seriously devastating Atlantic storms. While a number of factors determine a hurricane's strength and impact, warmer temperatures in certain locations play an important role.

In the Atlantic, warming in the Arctic could drive future hurricane tracks farther west , making a U. Hurricane Harvey , which dropped a record-breaking A warmer atmosphere can also furnish more water vapor for making rain, as evaporation increases and warm air holds more vapor than cold. Warming temperatures can also slow tropical cyclones , which can be a problem if their progression over land is extended, potentially increasing storm surges, rainfall, and exposure to high winds.

Potential trends make it more important than ever to be prepared for coming storms and to address the root causes of climate change , scientists say. Learn more about solutions here. All rights reserved. Lightning Strikes A supercell thunderstorm strikes in South Dakota.

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Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. As the warmed, moist air rises and cools off, the water in the air forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean's heat and water evaporating from the surface.

Storms that form north of the equator spin counterclockwise. Storms south of the equator spin clockwise. This difference is because of Earth's rotation on its axis.

As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the center. It is very calm and clear in the eye, with very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into the eye. 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 large red arrows show the rotation of the rising bands of clouds. When the winds in the rotating storm reach 39 mph, the storm is called a "tropical storm. Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land, because they are no longer being "fed" by the energy from the warm ocean waters.

Phytoplankton are microscopic algae that form the base of the marine food web, and therefore, all other life in the ocean relies on them. Blooms can also be good indicators of environmental changes not only in the water, but also on land. Hurricanes: Preparedness, Response, Recovery. Ocean Today: Fuel for the Storm. Why do we name tropical storms? National Hurricane Center. Recipe for a Hurricane Whipping up a hurricane calls for a number of ingredients readily available in tropical areas: A pre-existing weather disturbance : A hurricane often starts out as a tropical wave.