Atlantic Center Forme
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
Hurricane Formation
Hurricanes are tropical storms with wind speeds over 74 mph. ”Hurricane” is a word in the Caribbean Indian language that means “evil spirit and big wind.” Three ingredients make a hurricane: moist air, warm water, and converging winds. When winds meet over warm water (at least 80 degrees F) and push in a circular pattern, a hurricane may form. The majority of Atlantic hurricanes begin on the West Coast of Africa and are pushed westward towards the Americas.
The majority of hurricanes begin near the belt of the equator. This is because at that point, the Coriolis effect (gravitational spin of the earth) converges there with left-circulating winds from the south meeting rightward-circulating winds from the north.
As the winds spin, they pull warm air from the surface of the water and push it upwards, creating a funnel. The funnel is the eye of the hurricane and is, surprisingly, very calm. The wind is the most turbulent and the fast-spin of the cloud formations most pronounced at the Eye Wall. The moisture pulled up with the warm air at the surface of the water make up the clouds.
The space from the center of the eye to the Eye Wall is calm. As you move outward from the walls of the eye, however, the hurricane gets calmer as the area the winds are circulating in gets larger. The circulating cloud formations around the Eye are dark because they are the rain bands where rain falls, though most of this evaporates back into the storm before touching down.
The heat of the water is the fuel source for the feeds on itself – spinning left if going south and right if going north. Hurricanes grow and recirculate much of their energy as they move, creating a exponential growth of larger clouds and heavier winds. Hurricanes usually lose most of their energy upon landfall or when entering cooler waters because a crucial element is warm water.
Many storms become hurricanes on the map, move into a small area of cooler water, and then lose their force and die off.
Most hurricanes last only a few days. Storms usually begin as a tropical depression (low pressure zone). If the depression moves north or south, winds might pick up speed and the storm may get more intense. This is called a tropical storm.
Eventually, if conditions permit, it will continue moving north or south|southwards or north] and will have wind speeds over 74mph. Then it is a hurricane. In general, the smaller a hurricane is, the more potential damage it can do during landfall. Think of it as a ball thrown at your nose. The bigger the ball is, the more spread out the impact area will be and the less damage your nose will incur. Smaller balls like baseballs or golf balls, however, will hit your nose directly and put all of their force in a smaller area, causing more damage.
Every year, on average, about 100 tropical storms develop. Of those, about half become hurricanes and of those, barely 5-10% actual make landfall in an inhabited area. The majority of hurricanes never make it to shore.
For more information about how to protect your residence from hurricanes, take a look at miami hurricane shutters.
Linkin Park – When They Come For Me – Bank Atlantic Center
