STORMS HURRICANES AND THE HELP OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) RESEARCH DIVSION
             My original viewing of the movie A Perfect Storm was for the dramatic entertainment, all the information about the storm was of little or no interest. Now that my knowledge of the world includes some understanding of the ocean and the role it plays, I have more appreciation for the film and the complexity of a hurricane. A storm is no longer just a mixture of strong wind and rain and the ocean serves far greater purposes than fishing and picnicking. 71% of the planet is water and contains four major oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Artic); these oceans play an important part in Earth's weather, atmospheric conditions, take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and are studied for better forecasting.
             What is a storm? According to the textbook, storms are "atmospheric disturbances characterized by strong winds, precipitation, and often thunder and lighting and are caused by the seasonal change of pressure systems over continents." Storms are classified by their wind speed. Winds less than 38 miles per hour are tropical depression, winds less than 74 miles per hour are tropical storms, winds greater than 74 miles per hour are tropical cyclone hurricanes.
             It take three main conditions for a hurricane to form (warm ocean water - provides water vapor to the atmosphere, warm moist air - latent heat fuel and the carioles effect - causes hurricane to spin counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Storms are form when ocean water gets warm and it starts to evaporate and become water vapor or clouds of warm wet air that move upward. As the warm clouds moves up, it is replaced by hot air rushing in from all sides. In the middle of the rising air a column of sinking air forms, wind begins to swirl, a storm is formed, with a center that is called the eye.
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