how are hurricans made?

Answer 1

In meteorology, a tropical cyclone is a storm system fueled by the heat released when moist air rises and condenses. The name underscores their origin in the tropics and their cyclonic nature (circulation that is counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere). They are distinguished from other cyclonic storms such as nor'easters and polar lows by the heat mechanism that fuels them, which makes them "warm core" storm systems.

Depending on their strength and location, there are various terms by which tropical cyclones are known, such as tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane, and typhoon.

Tropical cyclones can produce extremely high winds, tornadoes, and torrential rain (leading to mudslides and flash floods), and drive storm surge onto coastal areas. Although the effects on human populations can be catastrophic, tropical cyclones have also been known to relieve drought conditions because they transport enormous amounts of moisture. They carry heat away from the tropics, an important mechanism of the global atmospheric circulation that maintains equilibrium in the earth's troposphere.
Structurally, a tropical cyclone is a large, rotating system of clouds, wind, and thunderstorms. Its primary energy source is the release of the heat of condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, the heat ultimately derived from the sun. Therefore, a tropical cyclone can be thought of as a giant vertical heat engine supported by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the rotation and gravity of the earth.[1] In another way, tropical cyclones could be viewed as a special type of Mesoscale Convective Complex, which continues to develop over a vast source of relative warmth and moisture. Condensation leads to higher wind speeds, as a tiny fraction of the released energy is converted into mechanical energy;[2] the faster winds and lower pressure associated with them in turn cause increased surface evaporation and thus even more condensation. Much of the released energy drives updrafts that increase the height of the storm clouds, speeding up condensation.[3] This gives rise to factors that provide the system with enough energy to be self-sufficient and cause a positive feedback loop where it can draw more energy as long as the source of heat, warm water, remains. Factors such as a continued lack of equilibrium in air mass distribution would also give supporting energy to the cyclone. The rotation of the earth causes the system to spin, an effect known as the Coriolis effect, giving it a cyclonic characteristic and affecting the trajectory of the storm.

The factors to form a tropical cyclone include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist and allow it to create a feedback loop by maximizing the energy intake possible, for example, such as high winds to increase the rate of evaporation, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods associated with this phenomenon.

Condensation as a driving force is what primarily distinguishes tropical cyclones from other meteorological phenomena.[4] Because this is strongest in a tropical climate, this defines the initial domain of the tropical cyclone. By contrast, mid-latitude cyclones draw their energy mostly from pre-existing horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere.[4] To continue to drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must remain over warm water, which provides the needed atmospheric moisture. The evaporation of this moisture is accelerated by the high winds and reduced atmospheric pressure in the storm, resulting in a positive feedback loop. As a result, when a tropical cyclone passes over land, its strength diminishes rapidly.[5]


Chart displaying the drop in surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita passed over.The passage of a tropical cyclone over the ocean can cause the upper ocean to cool substantially, which can influence subsequent cyclone development. Tropical cyclones cool the ocean by acting like "heat engines" that transfer heat from the ocean surface to the atmosphere through evaporation. Cooling is also caused by upwelling of cold water from below. Additional cooling may come from cold water from raindrops that remain on the ocean surface for a time. Cloud cover may also play a role in cooling the ocean by shielding the ocean surface from direct sunlight before and slightly after the storm passage. All these effects can combine to produce a dramatic drop in sea surface temperature over a large area in just a few days.[6]

Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimate that a tropical cyclone releases heat energy at the rate of 50 to 200 trillion joules per day.[3] For comparison, this rate of energy release is equivalent to exploding a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes[7] or 200 times the world-wide electrical generating capacity per day.[3]

While the most obvious motion of clouds is toward the center, tropical cyclones also develop an upper-level (high-altitude) outward flow of clouds. These originate from air that has released its moisture and is expelled at high altitude through the "chimney" of the storm engine.[1] This outflow produces high, thin cirrus clouds that spiral away from the center. The high cirrus clouds may be the first signs of an approaching tropical cyclone.[8]

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Physical structure

Structure of a hurricaneA strong tropical cyclone consists of the following components.

Surface low: All tropical cyclones rotate around an area of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level.
Warm core: Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation as moist air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically, around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.
Central Dense Overcast (CDO): The Central Dense Overcast is the shield of cirrus clouds produced by the eyewall thunderstorms. Typically, these are the highest and coldest clouds in the cyclone.
Eye: A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds (however, the sea may be extremely violent). Eyes are home to the coldest temperatures of the storm at the surface, and the warmest temperatures at the upper levels. The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 3 km to 320 km (2 miles to 200 miles) in diameter. In weaker cyclones, the CDO covers the circulation center, resulting in no visible eye.
Eyewall: A band around the eye of greatest wind speed, where clouds reach highest and precipitation is heaviest. The heaviest wind damage occurs where a hurricane's eyewall passes over land.
Rainbands: Bands of showers and thunderstorms that spiral cyclonically toward the storm center. High wind gusts and heavy downpours often occur in individual rainbands, with relatively calm weather between bands. Tornadoes often form in the rainbands of landfalling tropical cyclones. Annular hurricanes are distinctive for their lack of rainbands.
Outflow: The upper levels of a tropical cyclone feature winds headed away from the center of the storm with an anticyclonic rotation. Winds at the surface are strongly cyclonic, weaken with height, and eventually reverse themselves. Tropical cyclones owe this unique characteristic to the warm core at the center of the storm. Most tropical cyclones form in a worldwide band of thunderstorm activity called the Intertropical Discontinuity (ITD), also called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Most of these systems form between 10 and 30 degrees of the equator and 87% form within 20 degrees of it. Because the Coriolis effect initiates and maintains tropical cyclone rotation, tropical cyclones rarely form or move within about 5 degrees of the equator, [11] where the Coriolis effect is weakest. However, it is possible for tropical cyclones to form within this boundary as did Typhoon Vamei in 2001 and Cyclone Agni in 2004.

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Major basins
Traditionally, areas of tropical cyclone formation are divided into seven basins. These include the north Atlantic Ocean, the eastern and western parts of the Pacific Ocean (considered separately because tropical cyclones rarely form in the central Pacific), the southwestern Pacific, the southwestern and southeastern Indian Oceans, and the northern Indian Ocean. The North Atlantic is the most studied of the basins, while the Western Pacific is the most active and the North Indian the least active. Worldwide, an average of 80 tropical cyclones form each year.

Answer 2

Hurricanes are made when Anna Nicole Smith sneezes.

Answer 3

They start out as a storm off of the coast of south africa

Answer 4

they are made from a secret recipe, somewhere in japan.