Understanding Hurricanes

Flashcards covering key concepts about the formation and structure of hurricanes.

Hurricanes start as a group of thunderstorms moving west off the __.

West Coast of Africa

Hurricanes need __ water to survive.

open

The storm will keep growing as long as it has key ingredients like warm ocean water and high pressure _ it.

above

The __ effect causes the storm to rotate counterclockwise due to the Earth's rotation.

Coriolis

The calm and clear center of a hurricane is called the __.

eye

The __ is the most violent part of the hurricane, surrounding the eye.

eyewall

The most intense wind speeds at the surface are found in the __.

eyewall

The area of most destruction in a hurricane comes from the eyewall to the __ quadrant.

right

Weak flow or lack of __ wind shear above a hurricane is vital to keep it intensifying.

vertical

Hurricanes do not like __ and need open water to survive.

land