Hurricane Dean: Why Storms Forming Off Coast of Africa Are Cause for Concern

As a resident of Central Florida, very few idioms command instant attention more than the word, "Hurricane." After being pummeled by the 2004 threesome of Charley, Frances and Jeanne, the mere utterance of the H-word sends shivers down the spine of the region.

Something that catches as much attention, though, is a phrase that is less immediately identifiable with the general American public. What central Floridians really don't want to hear is any news-station meteorologist saying, "We're closely watching a system off the coast of Africa." Worse than the H-word by tenfold, the A-word sends Floridians into a panic. Why would Floridians be concerned about the weather on the other side of the globe? Consider how a hurricane comes to be:

All hurricanes begin their life as a low pressure system. Some begin in the Caribbean, some form near South America and some even blossom in the familiar and comfortable Gulf of Mexico. The fiercest and most dreaded storms, though, are born of thunderstorms moving westward off the African coast. These storms maximize the amount of time and energy they have to develop into monsters before terrorizing their coastal victims.

Hurricane formation is basic grade-school science. Warm, moist air over the heated tropical ocean rises. In a perfect and stable environment, the warm air rises and is replaced with cooler air from higher atmospheres. When a thunderstorm is present, accompanied by its lower atmospheric pressure, the process changes. The warm air still rises, but with an increased vigor. This rising air further lowers the atmospheric pressure just above the ocean¡Çs surface.

This area of low pressure is an inviting destination for fresh air in surrounding areas of higher pressure. As this air rushes in, it also rises. The thunderstorm develops into an area of exceptionally lower than normal pressure and becomes a "depression."