Hurricanes occur in the tropical areas of the world, in the latitudes of between 5 to 15o N and S. For a hurricane to develop a sustained seas surface temperature of at least 26.5oC to a depth of 70 m is needed otherwise there is not enough humidity in the atmosphere. The first sign of hurricane genesis is the appearance of a cluster of thunderstorms over the tropical oceans, called a tropical disturbance. Tropical disturbances most commonly form in different ways, all of which involve the convergence of surface winds1. Around 80% of tropical cyclones originate just pole wards of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The small-scale tropical depressions cause the warm air to rise into the atmosphere.
             The Coriolis effect creates a spiralling of the air. As the air rises higher, it condenses and releases latent heat of vaporisation while at the same time the surface pressure falls. Due to the atmospheric heating, the surrounding air becomes less dense and begins to rise as it does it expands and cools releasing further latent heat and a further increase in buoyancy
             and allowing more air to rise. The result is a chain reaction which combined with rising temperatures in the centre of the storm cause surface pressures to lower even more. Lower surface pressures encourage a more rapid inflow of air at the surface, more thunderstorms, more heat, lower surface pressure, stronger winds, and so on. The Coriolis effect causes the air to spiral around its point of lowest pressure – the eye of the storm.
             At the top of the hurricane, the air pressures are higher and the air begins to spiral outwards away from the eye. Once the wind speeds reach 23 mph, the tropical disturbance is classified as a tropical depression. Once the winds are over 74 mph can the storm be named a hurricane. However, even when the conditions are ripe at the surface a hurricane may not form due to atmospheric anomalies. For instance at latitudes over 20o, t...