Hurricanes Hurricanes Frontal depressions in the mid-latitudes are often poorly defined features. Their tropical counterparts, in contrast, have very distinct shapes and can be easily identified on images provided by satellites.
Tropical storms have different names in different parts of the world.
The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico experience the most organised annual season of hurricanes from about August through to October. These hurricanes begin life as disorganised storms which form over warm, tropical waters in the Atlantic. Usually surface seawater must be at least 27 C for there to be sufficient heat and moisture input into the atmosphere to generate the more violent storms. On a synoptic chart , a hurricane appears as a set of almost circular, tightly packed isobars . Hurricanes are usually about 300 to 400 miles wide.