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Causes of hurricanes and Effects
Introduction to hurricanes
Hurricane cause and effect
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What if a hurricane came storming through your neighborhood? What would you do? Would you run for safety or find your parents? Hurricanes are really just one big tropical storm, but there’s more behind it. Hurricanes are complicated and scientists are trying to figure out how and why they are occurring. Hurricanes form over oceans with warm waters and when they reach land they can cause major flooding and cause lots of damage. Hurricanes need warm water to form because for a storm to become a hurricane it needs energy and it gets its energy from the warm waters. For a hurricane to form they don’t just need warm water, they need strong winds (What makes hurricanes form). To know how strong the hurricane is going to be, we have categorized
Tropical waters serve as the perfect breeding and growing place for a hurricane. Storms, such as Katrina, are able to develop because of the availability of water vapor over tropical oceans. This creates the ideal environment for the growth of a hurricane (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011).
Hurricane Betsy developed east of the Windward Islands. This means that Betsy occurred in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Many hurricanes form in this area since it is near the equator and warm water, which is a requirement to form a hurricane is always available. In fact, hurricanes or tropical cyclones can only form if they meet four conditions. First, the temperature of ocean waters must be 82 degrees F or warmer in order. Moreover, low air pressure is needed. Furthermore, you need tropical winds located near the equator. Lastly, you need moist ocean air. The most important part is the warm air since it serves as energy for the storm. The air then rises into the low pressure are and cold air replaces it; this is what then produces what is called a disturbance, which is an area of heavy rainfall, thunder clouds and powerful winds. From here a hurricane can only get stronger and its wind speed is measured and depending on how powerful the storm is it is then assigned into one of five categories.
The birth of a hurricane requires at least three conditions. First, the ocean waters must be warm enough at the surface to put enough heat and moisture into the overlying atmosphere to provide the potential fuel for the thermodynamic engine that a hurricane becomes. Second, atmospheric moisture from seawater evaporation must combine with that heat and energy to form the powerful engine needed to propel a hurricane. Third, a wind pattern must be near the ocean surface to spirals air inward. At least 3 conditions must be present for a hurricane to emerge. Water, heat, and wind are the three main factors that have to be in perfect conditions to start a hurricane. (The Weather Channel, 2008)
Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.
Hurricanes are born over the warm waters of tropical oceans and are formed by a low-pressure system caused by the heating of water. The heat causes the air to rise and form lower pressures in a feedback loop, making the hurricane stronger. Heavy rain results from a condensation of water and strong winds develop from warm air rushing to the eye of the hurricane. Essentially, greater storms and winds occur when the hurricane feeds of the rising temperature of the water. In addition, researchers studied disturbances and intense thunderstorms in the atmosphere over Western Africa and believe they are partly to blame for extreme hurricanes affecting the United States and Canada. While these are all the main ingredients of a perfectly natural process, they were not the primary causes of the damage done by Hurricane
Firstly hurricanes, otherwise known as tropical-cyclones, are formed over warm ocean waters of at least 26.5ºC through depths of at least 45m. There must also be a high Coriolis Effect present such as there is just north and south of the equator. (Moran, 2011) Hurricanes begin as smaller storms called tropical disturbances, if the storm experiences a sufficient loss in surface air pressure coinciding with a strengthening sustained wind the storm is then upgraded to a tropical depression. As the storm continues to intensify and the wind speeds reach 63km/h it then becomes a tropical storm and is finally given a name. When the storm continues to grow in strength and reaches wind speeds of 119km/h it then becomes a hurricane. (Moran,2011)
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was a natural disaster that left the people of Galveston with an unimaginable and terrifying experience,various personal stories, and a massive cleanup job that led to building the sea wall and raising the elevation of the city. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the biggest natural disaster in American history. When it came there was little warning and once the citizens were warned it was too late to leave. The waves and rain from the hurricane flooded the whole city over fifteen feet high with water. During the storm people experienced many events that would change their lives. Everyone who survived this hurricane had a story, a story that could be tragic, happy, or full of stress. Once the storm was over there was an immense amount of debris that needed to be cleaned up. The people of Galveston had to look for bodies and people who were buried alive. Galveston had to rebuild everything and start all over. The people living there came up with an idea to build a seawall that would protect Galveston from large waves created by another hurricane. They then also raised the city by as much as 17 feet in some areas.
On August 14th a tropical wave moved westward towards the Cariban and the south eastern portion of the United States from Africa influenced by a high pressure storm to its north. On August 15th the storm became more concentrated and developed a center of circulation and spiral bands. By August 18th the winds increased in speed to 50 mph. Wind speed continued to rise to 80mph on August 18th. On August 22nd the storm reached hurricane status and was called Hurricane Andrew which would later be classified as a category 5 hurricane.
Most of my knowledge of hurricanes has come from Hurricane Katrina and the devastation I saw portrayed on the news. My other source is from a family-friend who lives in Florida who has had to endure a hurricane or two. Hurricanes are amazing at inflicting pain, poverty, filth, and illnesses on communities. They are a great way to spread pollution with all the debris. With all the houses, vehicles, and other massive objects hurricanes plow over, it is easy for them to be ruined then dumped miles away. Hurricanes not only bring man-made materials from here to there, but also bring plants or animals from the ocean into the mainland. Flooded streets may become the new home to poisonous snakes or dangerous fish or sharks. There are infinitely possibilities of being bitten, drown, or undiscovered. Hurricanes are brutal and violent natural disasters to endure and can be deadly in many cases.
Tornadoes usually occur within large thunderstorms which are called supercells. During the storm, cold and warm air combine. The cold air falls as the warm air rises. The warm air will then twist into a spiral and form a funnel cloud (How Are Tornadoes Formed). The wind coming into the storm starts to swirl and forms a funnel. The air in the funnel begins to spin faster and faster, creating a very low pressure area which pulls more air into it (How A Tornado Forms). On the other hand, hurricanes are areas of low air pressure which form when the ocean waters are over 80 degrees, and air from the high pressure area pushes in to the low pressure area. The "new" air becomes warm and moist and rises. The surrounding air swirls in to take its place as the warm air continues to rise. When the warm, moist air rises and cools, the water in the air forms clouds. The clouds and wind spin and grow fed by the heat of the ocean and evaporating water. When the water evaporates, it causes the clouds humidity and forces the air together which leaves behind low pressure. As the storm rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the center. The eye of the storm is very calm and c...
In the hurricane the mixture of the water and winds can be extremely damaging. The winds are extremely dangerous and usually don’t go faster than about 75 miles per hour but have been documented to go as fast as 85 miles per hour. Due to the fact that hurricanes need water to survive they cannot go too far on land, but that does not stop them from causing billions of dollars in damages. Hurricanes are so dangerous that they were listed number 1 on the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Hazard and Disasters list.
Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean waters with temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These low pressure systems are served by energy from the warm seas. If a storm reaches wind speeds of 38 miles an hour, it is known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles an hour, it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Hurricanes originate as tropical disturbances over warm oceans with trade winds. The tropical turbances intensify into tropical depressions, and eventually into a tropical storm. They only originate in the tropical trade winds because the ocean temperatures are quite warm there. Powered from the heat that the sea gives off, they are steered by the east trade winds and the temperate west ones, as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with a tremendous amount of velocity creating violent seas. As they move toward the shore, they move the ocean inward, while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods.
From where do hurricanes derive their energy? What factors tend to weaken hurricanes? Would you expect a hurricane to weaken more quickly if it moved over land or over cooler water? Hurricanes derive their strength from warm water at the ocean’s surface. Some of the factors that weaken hurricanes are strong wind shears which can tear a hurricane apart. Land, especially mountainous terrain results in a rapid weakening of a hurricane. Colder water also tends to slow the movement and weaken a hurricane. Land tends to weaken a hurricane quicker due to the terrain breaking up the wind movements and moisture being dumped over land and the hurricane unable to replace that moisture as rapidly as it can over warm
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.