Hurricanes are powerful, rotating storms of tropical origin. They bring high
winds, rain, and flooding. Strong winds move around a calm center called an
“eye.” Every hurricane is different, but they are similar in how they are formed
and how they are measured.
Hurricanes can only form over oceans where the water temperature is 26.5
degrees Celsius or more. This is warm for ocean water. Hurricanes never form off
the coast of New England, because the water temperature is never this warm.
Hurricanes cannot form any closer than 500 kilometers to the equator. The earth’s
rotational force is not great enough near the equator to create a hurricane’s spin.
Also, the wind must be blowing in the same direction and speed from the ocean
surface up to 9,000 meters above sea level.