Tropical Storms and Hurricanes Study Guide

Hurricane in Atlantic/ E. Pacific, Typhoons in W. Pacific, and Cyclone in Indian Ocean/Australia

What are the name for tropical storms around the globe, and where do they call them by each name?

Western N. Pacific

What part of the world averages the most hurricanes?

1 or 2

How many hurricanes have formed in the south Atlantic?

since evaporation is a cooling process, it reduces the warm core structure of the hurricane and limits vertical development of convection

How does the marine inversion prevent hurricane development on the eastern margins of oceans?

hurricanes

What is the most powerful of all storms?

74 mph

At what sustained wind speed does a storm become a hurricane?

strong tornadoes

Which has stronger wind speeds, Strong Tornadoes or Strong Hurricanes?

they are fueled by warm ocean water and driven by powerful pressure gradients

Why are hurricane winds so strong?

False

True or False: Hurricanes have fronts associated with their development?

False (August-September)

True or False: Hurricanes are most common in August - October?

counterclockwise

Hurricanes spin clockwise or counterclockwise?

Near the Eye

Hurricanes and their winds are stronger Near the Eye or At the Outer Edge?

warm cored

Hurricanes are cold cored or warm cored?

happens because of the outflow of air from the storm’s center, the outflow creates a vast, upper-level cloud shield that obscures the rainbands and eyewall below

Hurricanes have bands or heavy storms and rain, why then is the top covered in clouds even though there is not rain throughout?

creates a pressure gradient that drives winds into the storm, fuels its energy source and allows for the release of heat from the condensing moisture

Hurricanes at the surface have low pressure but aloft high pressure. How does this aid the storm development and allow it to maintain?

the eye

The most distinctive part of the hurricane is what?

False

True or False: A small eye means a weaker hurricane?

the eye wall

The strongest part of a hurricane is what?

double eye walls

A very strong hurricane can develop what?

are portions of the eye wall that grow taller than the surrounding clouds, indicate that the storm is beginning to intensify

What are hot towers and what do they suggest?

due to subsiding air and the release of heat during the condensation of water vapor

Why is the hurricane eye cloud free and warm?

small cluster of tornadoes, these tornadoes are disorganized groups of thunderstorms with weak pressure gradients and little to no rotation

What is a tropical disturbance?

form when midlatitude troughs migrate into the tropics, from the ITCZ but most come from the easterly wave, normally they form over western Africa, south of the Sahara Desert

Where do tropical disturbances form from and where do they typically form over?

90%

What percent of disturbances die without intensifying?

pressure lowers to the point where one closed isobar forms

What defines a tropical depression?

it becomes a tropical storm, at which point it is named

What happens when a tropical depression has sustained winds of 37 mph?

False

True or False: Hurricane formation is always in the same part of the ocean?

early in the Atlantic season waves coming off of Africa are the prime source, later in the season they are more likely to form in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

Describe the movement and timing of hurricane formation?

True

True or False: Hurricanes need latent heat to form?

above 81 degrees Fahrenheit

What ocean temperature is needed for hurricane development?

the tropical waters are the warmest

Why do hurricanes typically form in the late summer or fall?

False

True or False: Hurricanes typically form beyond 20 degrees North?

they require the Coriolis force to be strong enough to prevent the filling of the central low pressure which is absent between 0-5 degrees

Why do hurricanes typically not form between 0-5 degrees?

stable

Upwelling from the ocean creates stable or unstable conditions in the atmosphere?

hurricanes require the absence of strong vertical wind shear which disrupts the vertical transport of latent heat

Why does shear disrupt hurricane development?

the latent heat within the cumulus clouds causes the air to warm and expand up, temperature of the ocean can limit latent heat

Explain how latent heat drives hurricanes.

form over warm ocean waters near the equator, primarily in the tropical and subtropical regions. They are fueled by warm, moist air that rises and cools, condensing into clouds and releasing heat, which in turn strengthens the storm

Combining lots of information, summarize how and where hurricanes form?

trade winds, Coriolis effect, warm ocean waters, low atmospheric pressure

What moves a hurricane?

likely changes, August storms hit the West Indies, Texas or north towards Florida, September path is between Yucatan, western Cuba and Gulf Coast, others can go by Puerto Rico

Do hurricanes hit the same locations in North America throughout the year of does the likely target change?

they lose their warm water fuel source and encounter cooler water temps

Why do hurricanes typically not maintain strength as they move north along the east coast?

inland flooding

Once a hurricane moves inland, what becomes the primary threat?

storm surges, flooding and inland flooding, tornadoes, rip currents, heavy rainfall

Besides wind speeds, what are some of the other risks of hurricanes?

storm surge

What is the deadliest part of the hurricane?

forms by two processes, heavy winds pile the water up as the wind drags the water forward, low pressure of the storm eye allows for a dome of water to rise up under the eye

How does the storm surge form?

right hand side/quadrant, relative to its forward motion because winds add to the movement of the steering winds, resulting in increased wind speed and a higher surge

What part of the hurricane has the highest storm surge. Why?

inland flooding

While storm surges are the deadliest part of a storm, what has become an even deadlier component?

Miami, Florida

Where is the national hurricane center?

a hurricane watch is issued when a hurricane is likely to strike a region in more than 24 hours, if it is within 24 hours, a warning is issued

What are the differences between a hurricane watch and warning?

Saffir-Simpson Scale

What is the hurricane intensity scale called?

4

How many category 5 hurricanes have struck the U.S.?

Labor Day Hurricane (1935), Hurricane Camille (1969), Hurricane Andrew (1992), Hurricane Michael (2018)

What are the names of the category 5 hurricanes that have struck the U.S.?

True

True or False: Hurricanes have trends of occurrence?

False

True or False: The occurrence of category 4 and 5 hurricanes have decreased?

Galveston Hurricane (1900)

What is the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history?