How do hurricanes get an extra kick of energy from the rising air?
Well, all the energy of a hurricane, or any other low pressure, is from the rising air. This is what creates a lower pressure that result in the wind of rushing air trying to fill the void. As air rises, it cools down by the adiabatic effect of a lesser pressure aloft and it stops when meeting surrounding air of equal temperature. But the moisture in that rising air warms up the now formed cloud because in order to condense into droplets, water needs to give away heat energy. This is why the so-called wet adiabatic lapse rate is only half that of dry air. As this process continues and air rises into colder air above, the pressure keeps sinking, bringing wind from the surrounding, moist and mild wind near the surface and the process continues until it turns into a tropical cyclone with wind reaching force 12 on the Beaufort scale. This is when we call it a hurricane.
