How are Hurricanes different from Tornadoes?
While both tropical cyclones and tornadoes are atmospheric vortices, they have little in common. Tornadoes have diameters on the scale of feet and are produced from a single storm (i.e. a thunderstorm). A tropical cyclone, however, has a diameter on the scale of miles and is comprised of several to dozens of convective storms. Tornadoes are primarily an over-land phenomena as solar heating of the land surface usually contributes toward the development of the thunderstorm that spawns the vortex. In contrast, tropical cyclones are purely an oceanic phenomena – they die out over-land due to a loss of a moisture source. Lastly, tropical cyclones have a lifetime that is measured in days, while tornadoes typically last on the scale of minutes. How does a Hurricane Form? A hurricane needs several different factors present in order for it to develop. 1. Warm ocean waters of at least 80F throughout a sufficient depth of at least 150 ft. Warm waters are necessary to fuel the heat engine of the t
