Hurricanes A hurricane forms when warm tropical ocean water evaporates into the air. As this air rises, the moisture condenses to form thunderclouds and rain. The process releases heat into the air all around, making it lighter and lowering the air pressure.
Air then flows inward from all sides, drawn in by the area of low pressure.
This air then rises and creates more thunderclouds. Earth's rotation causes the inflowing air and the huge bands of thunderstorms to spin. The center of the hurricane, which is relatively calm and rain-free, is called the hurricane's eye. Did You Know That Adapted from Scholastic Science World, September 6, 1996.