Most hurricanes live for about a week. However, if a hurricane remains over warm water its life can be extended. In 1992, hurricane Tina was an active tropical storm for 24 days over the North Pacific. The map in Figure 5u-4 shows the typical areas of hurricane development and the usual paths they take during their life. Typical areas where hurricanes begin their development and the common paths of storm movement.
Hurricanes go through a number of different stages of development.
Initially, these powerful storms begin their lives as an unorganized group of thunderstorms that develop over the specific areas of the tropical oceans. However, not all of these types of tropical disturbances become hurricanes. To develop into a hurricane, significant cyclonic circulation must occur around the disturbances. This type of circulation enhances the development of the group of thunderstorms by providing additional moisture and latent heat energy . With more moisture and latent heat energy, the strength and number of the thunderstorms in the tropical disturbance increases causing the disturbance to intensify.