How are hurricanes detected?

Answer 1

First a little historical perspective:

Before the advent of radio, the only means of detecting a hurricane was for hapless ships at sea to stumble across them. If they happened to make it to shore before the 'cane did, then there would be some warning for the landlubbers. If not, the hurricane would mostly strike without warning. Such was the case when Galveston TX was struck, and upwards of 10,000 people were killed, in 1900.

By WWII, airplanes flying transoceanic (or is the word "transcontinental"?) routes would spot hurricanes and sound the warning, and meteorological planes would be dispatched to go investigate further, and information was relayed by radio.

Today, satellites do most of the dirty work. Satellites take their pictures hourly (or better) and transmit the data home. There is also an extensive network of buoys that detect low pressures, high winds, and high waves, and these data supplement the data from the satellites.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/rmd.shtml

When a tropical storm situation exists, ships at sea are also requested to submit data from weather stations aboard the ships. Pressures, air temperatures, sea surface temperatures, wind speeds, wind direction, air dewpoints, and wave heights are all used to make the forecast.

Meteorologists now keep a close eye on every disturbance with a potential for further development in the tropics, and by the time you read about there being a hurricane, the wizzes at the NHC have probably been poring over their data on the development of that storm for a week to 10 days! If it's anywhere near the USA, there have already been quite a few flights by The Hurricane Hunters right through it.....even before it became a hurricane.

http://www.aoc.noaa.gov/index.html

Answer 2

If there is convection, then they kno that a hurricane is about to start forming and will be consider a Tropical Depression. Then later after its intensification, it will be consider a hurricane