Hurricane Questions?

Question

What causes a hurricane to dissipate?

How long do the hurricane hunters travel in the WC-130H aircraft during a normal mission?

What are the five most damaging aspects of a hurricane?

What side of the hurricane is storm surge the greatest?

How do the winds and Low Pressure combine to create a larger storm surge?

How high can storm surges reach?

Where do tornadoes form in a hurricane? Why are they dangerous?

and lastly...

How and why are hurricanes named?

Answer 1

a) A hurricane is really just a giant natural heat engine. It is powered by the temperature difference between the air and the water. Once the water temp falls below a certain level, the hurricane loses it's energy source. Also, when a hurricane comes a shore, it loses it's energy source.

b) Normal missions last about 15 hours.

c) Wind, storm surge, rain, flying debris, lightning.

d) Using a clock reference, if the direction of the storm is 12, the storm surge will generally be greatest at about 2

e) The winds push the water forward so it piles up (like when you run your hand through the water). The low pressure lifts the surface of the water like a vacuum creating a dome shape.

f) The highest recorded storm surge was 43 feet for a cyclone in Australia.

g) The tornadoes are spin off vortexes created by changes in band rotation when the hurricane comes ashore.

h) Hurricanes are named to identify storms and track them. The names are given by the National Hurricane Center.