This is How Hurricanes Are Formed

In the last five years, the incidence of hurricanes and their magnitude has been increasing. There are several theories that are trying to explain this phenomenon, but none has been recognized as determinant; some blame the climate change, others pollutions and others think this is a natural cycle. Regardless of what you think, there are several atmospheric conditions that need to be present for a hurricane to form.

A hurricane is like a recipe that needs ingredients to be produced. These ingredients can be called pre-conditions and refer to the preexisting conditions that need to be present to produce a hurricane. The ingredients are a sufficient Coriolis force which is a pseudo-force caused by the rotating reference frame of the Earth, an atmospheric disturbance, warm ocean waters like those in the pacific, low atmospheric stability, a humid mid atmosphere, and upper atmospheric divergence. If these entire conditions are met, then the formations of a tropical storm which can latter grow to be a hurricane is plausible. This causes enormous amounts of heat from the tropics to be transported to northern latitudes that can develop a hurricane.

After the pre-conditions have been established, it is not certain that a hurricane will form. There are mechanisms that encourage this phenomena, the most common being the monsoon trough, which is an extension of the inter-tropical convergence zone in which a cyclonic spin has been detected. This is a low pressure zone that when hit by the monsoon can initiate a rotational movement that creates a hurricane.

The Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough or TUTT can also cause the formation of a hurricane. Air trapped in the top layer is usually colder than the surrounding environment, but when the zone below becomes a low pressure area and this low pressure condition lasts for several days, the TUTT will begin to get warm. When this happens, the TUTT that is usually cold and harmless starts developing tropical and stormy characteristics. Once the TUTT gets warm due to the low pressure zone can create a hurricane if the system has enough energy to develop rotation.

Many fronts have an initial cyclonic spin that is weak, but if the front hovers over tropical waters for a long period of time, it can accumulate energy in the form of heat. If winds aloft becomes favorable, then tropical conditions such as wind and storms will gain strength and this could also lead to a hurricane.

Although there are several causes for hurricane formation, the monsoon is the leading cause by far. This is the reason why most hurricanes come from the east.