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The Formation of Hurricanes Essay

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The Formation of Hurricanes

Hurricanes begin as tropical storms over the warm moist waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near the equator. (Near the Philippines and the China Sea, hurricanes are called typhoons.) As the moisture evaporates it rises until enormous amounts of heated moist air are twisted high in the atmosphere. The winds begin to circle counterclockwise north of the equator or clockwise south of the equator. The relatively peaceful center of the hurricane is called the eye. Around this center winds move at speeds between 74 and 200 miles per hour. As long as the hurricane remains over waters of 79F or warmer, it continues to pull moisture from the surface and grow in size …show more content…

death toll at least 25 in Ivan's wake

We only have basic knowledge of general hurricane occurrence there are no atmospheric conditions that can be measured to predict where a hurricane will develop. Therefore we can only forecast its path when it’s formed. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, searches for potential hurricanes in their early stages and track them through their life cycle until they decay and die.

Satellites detect hurricanes in their early stages of development and can help to provide early warnings of hurricanes. Special aircrafts fitted with instruments fly through and over hurricanes, and weather radar can locate storms within 200 miles of the radar station.

Hurricane Ivan

Hurricane Ivan continues to make the headlines. It is not classified as a hurricane anymore, and its remains are now classified as a weak tropical depression. The last of Ivan has now moved away from the mid-Atlantic coast but before it did so it managed to produce large amounts of rain over vast

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