2/13/2024 0 Comments Lake charles weather bbcWhy doesn’t the UK experience hurricanes?Īlthough hurricanes can travel vast distances, they rely on warm ocean water to sustain them – a large mass of cold water can stop them in their tracks. This increases the likelihood of tropical storms ramping up into hurricanes, because wind shear can disrupt the vertical flow of warm humid air and cause storms to break down.įrom October onwards, air and ocean temperatures cool and wind shear picks up again, meaning that hurricanes are less likely to form. ![]() Over the summer, the vertical wind shear (abrupt changes in wind speed and direction with altitude) also weakens over the Atlantic. The ocean gradually warms over the summer months, reaching the optimal temperatures for hurricane formation in August or September. Since hurricanes are fuelled by heat, they only form when upper ocean waters hit 26✬ and above, so they always originate in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In the North Atlantic, hurricane season runs from early June to late November. What conditions do hurricanes need to form? Once they make landfall, they weaken and dissipate, but not before unleashing devastatingly strong winds and heavy rains on anything in their path, as well as causing storm surges (an abnormal rise in sea level).Īn average of six hurricanes are produced in the Atlantic every year, but the 2020 season has been exceptionally active, with eight recorded as of late September. Most hurricanes in the North Atlantic form off the western coast of Africa, and are carried to North America, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico by the prevailing easterly winds. The aftermath of category 4 hurricane Laura, which hit Lake Charles, Louisiana, in August 2020 © Dave Creaney/Anadolu Agency/Getty The Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale classifies hurricanes from 1 to 5 based on wind speed, with category 5 hurricanes fostering winds of 250km/h and above. ![]() Meanwhile, as the rising air cools, the moisture condenses out and forms rain clouds.Īs long as there’s sufficient heat from the oceans, the storm continues to grow, and it may eventually be intense enough to produce the 119km/h winds that officially define a hurricane.Īs the hurricane rotates faster, a calm ‘eye’ of exceptionally low air pressure forms at its centre, surrounded by the strongest winds. This draws in more humid air from surrounding areas, and as the air rushes in, the Coriolis effect, created by the Earth’s spin, causes it to follow a curved path, leading the developing storm to spin anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere. In other parts of the world, these swirling storms are known as typhoons (in the north-western Pacific) or cyclones (South Pacific and Indian Ocean).Īll of these storms form above ocean waters when warm, moist air rises. Hurricanes are some of the most powerful storms on Earth, drawing their energy from warm tropical waters in the Atlantic or north-eastern Pacific. Why is there a hurricane season? What causes hurricanes?
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