Hurricanes are driven by the heat of the ocean. That's a natural and common fear, but a new computer study indicates that it may be a bit overstated. Very cool three-dimensional model of Hurricane Andrew approaching Florida in August, 1992. Results were obtained from a forecast, in research mode, using a dynamical hurricane prediction system developed at Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory . The supposition derives from basic physics.
Storms are all about motion, and more heat energy translates into more motion.
But there are only two ways to test the supposition. Either you can wait around for a century or so, until increased accumulations of greenhouse gases warm the globe. Or you can burn expensive supercomputer time simulating the motion of a warmed atmosphere. . Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory simulates the effect of CO2 doubling on surface air temperature. The movie shows it best.