Hurricanes are massive storms with powerful winds that rotate in a counter-clockwise direction (in the Northern Hemisphere) or clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. They gain energy by contacting warm ocean water, which vaporizes and increases their strength. When a hurricane hits land, its wind and rain can cause tremendous damage. They can sweep away beach sand and carry it to other locations along the coast, as well as topple trees and cars and cause flooding from rising seawater.
The first ingredient for a hurricane is a thunderstorm complex that develops over the Atlantic ocean. This forms a low-pressure area with organized wind patterns and an eye at its center. If the weather conditions are right, the thunderstorm complex will amplify into what is called a tropical disturbance. The tropical disturbance will then continue to develop into a hurricane if there are favorable atmospheric conditions.
The second ingredient is very warm ocean waters that are at least 80°F. The warmer ocean temperatures power the hurricane as its winds churn the surface water, and cooler deep waters upwell from below to mix with the warm surface layer.
The third ingredient is the presence of a relatively clear region in the middle of the hurricane known as the eye. The eye is usually the calmest and clearest part of a hurricane, although it still has strong winds. The fourth ingredient is an absence of high vertical wind shear. Wind shear is a change in wind speed with height, and it limits the formation of hurricanes by displacing the warm surface air that fuels them.