Question

A hurricane is MOST LIKLEY to occur in an area A) near warm water. Eliminate B) near cool water. C) with strong wind. D) with little moisture.

Answer 1

A) near warm water.

Hurricanes, also called tropical cyclones form in seven distinct basins around the world. Some hurricane formation basins are much more active than others. Some tropical cyclone basins also have conditions in which tropical cyclones may occur over longer periods during the year. Most tropical cyclones form from a disturbance in the monsoon trough. The north Atlantic basin is considerably different, as the majority of hurricanes form from easterly waves originating from Africa.  Hurricanes and typhoons only can form over large basins of warm water such as an ocean or gulf. This is due to the fact that they need a large amount of energy which is supplied by the heat from the warm ocean waters evaporating into the atmosphere. Hurricanes also occur at least several degrees away from the equator. This is because the Coriolis force is too weak at the equator to generate spin for the hurricane to develop.