How do Hurricanes work?

Answer 1

Hurricanes are defined by the following characteristics:

They are tropical, meaning that they are generated in tropical areas of the ocean near the Equator.
They are cyclonic, meaning that their winds swirl around a central eye. Wind direction is counterclockwise (west to east) in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise (east to west) in the Southern Hemisphere (more about this later).
They are low-pressure systems. The eye of a hurricane is always a low-pressure area. The lowest barometric pressures ever recorded have occurred inside hurricanes.
The winds swirling around the center of the storm have a sustained speed of at least 74 mph (119 kph / 64 kt).
How a Hurricane Forms
Hurricanes form in tropical regions where there is warm water (at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit / 27 degrees Celsius), moist air and converging equatorial winds. Most Atlantic hurricanes begin off the west coast of Africa, starting as thunderstorms that move out over the warm, tropical ocean waters. A thunderstorm reaches hurricane status in three stages:

Tropical depression - swirling clouds and rain with wind speeds of less than 38 mph (61.15 kph / 33 kt)
Tropical storm - wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph (54.7 to 117.5 kph / 34 to 63 kt)
Hurricane - wind speeds greater than 74 mph (119 kph / 64 kt)

It can take anywhere from hours to several days for a thunderstorm to develop into a hurricane. Although the whole process of hurricane formation is not entirely understood, three events must happen for hurricanes to form:

A continuing evaporation-condensation cycle of warm, humid ocean air
Patterns of wind characterized by converging winds at the surface and strong, uniform-speed winds at higher altitudes
A difference in air pressure (pressure gradient) between the surface and high altitude
Warm, moist air from the ocean surface begins to rise rapidly. As this warm air rises, its water vapor condenses to form storm clouds and droplets of rain. The condensation releases heat called latent heat of condensation. This latent heat warms the cool air aloft, thereby causing it to rise. This rising air is replaced by more warm, humid air from the ocean below. This cycle continues, drawing more warm, moist air into the developing storm and continuously moving heat from the surface to the atmosphere. This exchange of heat from the surface creates a pattern of wind that circulates around a center. This circulation is similar to that of water going down a drain.

"Converging winds" are winds moving in different directions that run into each other. Converging winds at the surface collide and push warm, moist air upward. This rising air reinforces the air that is already rising from the surface, so the circulation and wind speeds of the storm increase. In the meantime, strong winds blowing at uniform speeds at higher altitudes (up to 30,000 ft / 9,000 m) help to remove the rising hot air from the storm's center, maintaining a continual movement of warm air from the surface and keeping the storm organized. If the high-altitude winds do not blow at the same speed at all levels -- if wind shears are present -- the storm loses organization and weakens.

High-pressure air in the upper atmosphere (above 30,000 ft / 9,000 m) over the storm's center also removes heat from the rising air, further driving the air cycle and the hurricane's growth. As high-pressure air is sucked into the low-pressure center of the storm, wind speeds increase.

Parts of a Hurricane
Once a hurricane forms, it has three main parts:

Eye - the low pressure, calm center of circulation
Eye wall - area around the eye with the fastest, most violent winds
Rain bands - bands of thunderstorms circulating outward from the eye that are part of the evaporation/condensation cycle that feeds the storm

Answer 2

They originate over the desert in west Africa and become vortices of hot air. Then they gather energy from the hot ocean below them as they travel WNW towards the Caribbean or SE of USA. As they gather energy the winds within them become faster. When they hit land the land is an obstacle to the wind so they soon slow down ~ that's why inland regions get only high winds and lots of rain and not the fiercely destructive winds on the coast.

Answer 3

they go in a circle...and rain a lot and cause lots of wind damage

Answer 4

Very hard.