What specifically causes the birth of a hurricane?

Trooper2196

birth of a hurricane How is a hurricane formed? A hurricane starts off as a regular thunderstorm. Most of these storms start off the coast of West Africa and then move over the warm tropical waters and this is one of the ingredients in the recipe for a hurricane. The difference is that the thunderstorms start to rotate once they run into the converging winds. It takes an incredible amount of energy for a hurricane to be created. Without the right factors a hurricane will not be created. A hurricane needs warm water to form. Without warm water you will not have a hurricane. To be exact the water temperature needs to be at least 80 degrees. A hurricane also needs to have a constant flow of warm, moist air. Most hurricanes start of as a regular thunderstorm. When the thunderstorms move over the warm and tropical water of the ocean it then has the fuel it needs to become a hurricane. This storm has to go through some stages before it becomes a hurricane though. The storm is first classified as a tropical disturbance. The storm is then classified as a tropical depression if it is able to hold itself together for a day. Next its classified as a tropical depression if it has rain and wind speeds that are less than 38 miles per hour. If the storm continues to strengthen it then becomes a tropical storm. A tropical storm also has rain and the winds are now at speeds of 39 to 73 miles per hour. Once the storm strengthens further and the winds are stronger than 74 miles per hour it is then classified as a hurricane. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32968.asp Jan 24 10, 5:44 PM