Why does the pressure of Hurricane Milton matter?

161 viewsOtherPlanetary Science

Thank you in advance.

In: Planetary Science

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The pressure is what drives the storm. Areas of low pressure in the atmosphere want to pull in air from areas of higher pressure to equalize (that’s just how gases spread around in a container/space). The way these hurricanes work is that an area of exceptionally-low pressure forms in the middle of them, sucking in warm, moist air from the ocean around it. As the air rushes in to the eye and gets bunched up, it starts to rotate the way water out of a jug will tend to spin as it drains. That spinning generates a ton of wind and the pressures coming up to the eye drive out moisture from the air and cause it to make clouds and rain and… you got yourself a hurricane.

So in short, a hurricane with a really low pressure center still has a lot of “oomph” left in it.

You are viewing 1 out of 2 answers, click here to view all answers.