Answer:
Hurricanes take energy from the warm ocean water to become stronger. While a hurricane is over warm water it will continue to grow and become stronger. Because of the low pressure at its center, winds flow toward the center of the storm and air is forced upward. High in the atmosphere, the winds flow away from the storm, which allows more air from below to rise. The air that rises needs to be warm and moist so that it forms the clouds of the storm. Warm, moist air is found above warm, tropical ocean waters. A hurricane also needs the winds outside the storm to be light. These winds steer the storm but are not strong enough to disrupt it. As a storm grows, it goes through a series of stages. First, it starts as a tropical disturbance. Then, with cyclonic circulation and faster wind speeds, it becomes a tropical depression. If the wind keeps getting faster it becomes a tropical storm and then a hurricane if winds are more than 74 miles per hour (119 kph).The classifications are based on the wind speeds in the storm, not the size of the storm. Hurricanes that look small on radar can have very high wind speeds, and large storms can have low wind speeds. Wind speeds in hurricanes are often measured in knots. Compared to a mile per hour, knots are a little bit faster: one knot is equal to 1.15 miles per hour. For example, if the wind is blowing at 10 knots, it's going 11.5 miles per hour.