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Accuweather/The timing of hurricane formations
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Question
Do hurricanes only start forming in daylight hours or can they form at night? If they form mainly in daytime the tops of storm clouds that may be the start of a hurricane are very bright and reflect away the heat of he sun. If it were possible to powder the top of storm clouds with a dark material that would allow heating of the top clouds by the sun, might this reduce the temperature gradient top to bottom and perhaps cause a slight reduction in the power of the updraft?
Victor,
Hurricanes can and do form at any time of the day or night. The primary driving engine for hurricanes and tropical storms is the release of latent heat from condensation. That is why these type of storms form over water and maintain their strength over water, as long as the water temperature is at or above 80 degrees F. If the water temperatures are cooler than that, then the storms tend to weaken, since there is not enough latent heat release. Sunshine, or the lack thereof, plays only a very small roll in the development and maintenance of tropical systems.
I hope this helped.
Sincerely,
Dave Dombek
AccuWeather.com
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| Comment | Thank you, I didn't think I was onto something new but I'm sure there is still a lot to learn about Hurricanes. | ||
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Dave Dombek
Expertise
A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.
Experience
Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.
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