Science Bookfinder Hurricane dynamics L ike all tropical cyclones , a hurricanes need the warm water of the tropics, which feeds the storms with energy. In a mature hurricane, wind picks up warmth and moisture from the ocean, circling inward ever faster from outer cloud bands to the inner eyewall, where winds are the strongest and where it finally rises rapidly and is pushed out the top. Many of the worst start as seedlings coming off the coast of Africa. In the beginning, a disturbance forms in the atmosphere, developing into an area of low atmospheric pressure . Winds begin to move into the center of the storm seedling from surrounding areas of higher air pressure.
Warm water heats the air, and it rises as it nears the center.
The ocean feeds warmth and moisture into the storm, providing energy that causes the warm air in the center to rise faster. It condenses high in the atmosphere, creating thunderstorms. As rising air in the storm's center condenses, it produces heat, forcing it to rise even faster. This kicks the ocean up more and, well, you can see that the storm essentially feeds on itself. The ocean's role While many factors control the number of hurricanes in a given season, forecaster Bill Gray has said the long-term trend is ruled by a conveyor belt of sorts that moves Atlantic ocean water northward from near the Caribbean to an area east of Greenland.