Prime time for tropical development

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The warm ocean waters of summer are notorious for spawning hurricanes and tropical storms. Those maritime storms can form out of the simplest of conditions: the ever-present hot, humid air sitting over the ocean and winds that aren’t too strong.

As the warm air rises, tall, anvil-like clouds that stretch high into the atmosphere begin to form and soon…so do thunderstorms.

As the air rises, more warm, humid air rushes in and begins to rise and help new storms to develop.

The lift in the cluster of storms intensifies and as outside air continues to move in, low pressure forms and begins to rotate.

Once the circulation becomes closed, a tropical system has formed.

The weakest of these systems is a tropical depression. Depressions have winds of less than 39 miles an hour. They can drop heavy rain and cause flooding, and the winds can cause minor damage.

As the system strengthens, more storms form. That means higher winds that can cause more damage and heavier rain, which can lead to more flooding.

Tropical storms have sustained wind speeds between 39 and 73 miles per hour.

The kings of these storms are hurricanes, with winds of at least 74 miles per hour. 

Hurricanes are known for widespread flooding, straight-line wind damage along with tornadoes and flooding from storm surge.

Major hurricanes can be catastrophic and can affect areas hundreds of miles inland, especially with flooding and wind damage. 

They have winds of over one-hundred fifteen miles per hour and are classified as category 3 or higher.