Formation of Hurricanes

Question 1

1. tropical disturbance

Answer 1

1. water vapor from the warm ocean condenses: forming clouds, it releases its heat to the air.
2. warm air rises: pulled into the column of clouds. Evaporation and condensation continue, building the cloud columns higher and larger.
3. pattern develop: with the wind circulating around a center (like water going down a drain).
   4: builds: becomes a cluster of thunderstorm clouds, called a tropical disturbance.

Question 2

2. tropical depression

Answer 2

5. Thunderstorm grows higher and larger, the air at the top of the cloud column is cooling and becoming unstable.
6. heat energy is released from the cooling water vapor: Air at the top of the clouds becomes warmer,
   air pressure rises causing winds to move outward away from the high pressure area.
7. air at the surface moves toward the lower pressure area, rises, and creates more thunderstorms.
8. Winds in the storm cloud column spin faster and faster, whipping around in a circular motion.

When the winds reach between 25 and 38 mph, the storm is called a tropical depression.

Question 3

3. tropical storm

Answer 3

9. When wind speed reaches 39 mph - becomes a tropical storm.
10. storm gets a name.
11. winds blow faster and begin twisting and turning around the eye, or calm center, of the storm.

Wind direction is counterclockwise (west to east) in the northern hemisphere

clockwise (east to west) in the southern hemisphere.

known as the Coriolis effect.

Question 4

4. hurricane

Answer 4

12. wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm is officially a hurricane.
    The storm is at least 50,000 feet high and around 125 miles across.
    The eye is around 5 to 30 miles wide.
13. The trade winds (which blow from east to west) push the hurricane toward the west.
14. winds and the low air pressure cause a huge mound of ocean water to pile up near the eye of the hurricane, which can cause monster storm surges when all this water reaches land.
15. Hurricanes usually weaken when they hit land:
    - they are no longer fed by the energy from the warm ocean waters.

Question 5

dangers of a hurricane

Answer 5

• high winds
• heavy rainfall
• storm surge
• buildings damages

Question 6

conclusion

Answer 6

Hot water evaporates, rises and forms clouds. The rotation of the earth causes the air to swirl, creating a vortex.
The vortex has low pressure in the middle. The hurricane moves, the pressure falls and the ‘eye’ forms. slows down as it goes onto land.