Information for Hurricane (Tropical Cyclone)

Hurricane mechanics

Hurricane is a large, rotating system of clouds, wind and thunderstorm activity. Its primary energy source is the release of the heat of condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, the heat ultimately derived from the sun.

Therefore, Hurricane can be thought of as a giant vertical heat engine supported by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the orbital revolution and gravity of the Earth.

Observation and tracking of Hurricane

It is possible to take in-situ measurements of Hurricane , in real-time, by sending specially equipped reconnaissance flights into the cyclone. In the Atlantic basin, these flights are regularly flown by US government hurricane hunters (WC-130 Hercules aircrafts)

Hurricane is also tracked by weather satellites using visible light and infrared bands. These satellite images are received regularly on half hour intervals. As Hurricane approaches land, the cyclone can also be imaged remotely by a nationwide system of Doppler radar. Land-based Doppler radars play a crucial role during landfall because they give forecasters the ability to see the storms location and intensity minute by minute.

Naming Hurricanes

Storms reaching tropical storm strength (winds exceeding 17 metres per second, 38 mph, or 62 km/h) are given names, to assist in recording insurance claims, to assist in warning people of the coming storm, and to further indicate that these are important storms that should not be ignored. These names are taken from lists which vary from region to region and are drafted a few years ahead of time. The lists are decided upon, depending on the regions, either by committees of the World Meteorological Organization (called primarily to discuss many other issues), or by national weather services involved in the forecasting of the storms.

Each year, the names of particularly destructive storms (if there were any) are "retired" and new names are chosen to take their place.

Information from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia