EOSC 114 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Wind Shear, Latent Heat, Thunderstorm
22 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Explain how hurricanes get and utilize heat energy, and why hurricanes can exist for weeks. List the requirements for hurricane existence, describe how hurricanes evolve, and what causes them to die. Describe the risks associated with hurricanes, and appropriate safety measures. Large, tropical cyclones aka typhoons; made of thunderstorms: heat engines that convert heat energy of tropical ocean into mechanical energy of winds/waves, weaker winds = stronger hurricane. Seawater must be at least 27 c, air must be warm and humid, winds must be weak, must be far from equator. Tropical disturbance low pressure zone: thunderstorms w/ weak surface winds. Tropical depression: surface winds become stronger, converging surface winds spiral inward. Tropical storm: surface wind speeds 63+ km/h. Maturity: intense rainfall surrounding the eye, strong winds along eye wall. Decline: when cut from energy source (warm water) Some hurricanes undergo transformation, and gain strength when travelling north. Diameter: 15 km for hurricanes & thunderstorms.
