How is a cyclone formed?

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes tropical cyclone as ‘an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.’ Drawing energy from the surface of a heated up sea, it maintains maximum strength over warm water.

How strong is a cyclone?
Tropical cyclones generate winds that exceed 119 km per hour, but may cross 240 km per hour, and gusts may surpass 320 km per hour. Accompanying these strong winds are torrential rains and a scary phenomenon known as the storm surge, where an elevation of the sea or river surface can reach 20 feet above normal water levels.

How do tropical cyclones form?
Let’s look at a storm’s lifecycle stage by stage.

A cyclone starts with warm, moist air over the ocean rising upward from the surface. As this air moves up and away, it leaves a gap in the air near the surface. So, basically, as the warm air rises, it causes an area or trough of low air pressure below
Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure now rushes in to the low pressure area. Then this new ‘cool’ air also becomes warm and moist and rises. So the cycle continues
The warmed, moist air rising up cools down and forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows with the starting point as vortex, fed by the ocean’s heat and evaporating water
As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the centre of it. The eye has very calm winds with oddly clear skies, and very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into this eye
When the winds in the rotating storm reach 63 kilometers per hour, the storm is called a ‘tropical storm’. And when the wind speeds reach 119 kilometers per hour, the storm officially becomes a ‘tropical cyclone’ or hurricane
Tropical cyclones are terrifying on land because we can see them, but they are monstrously fast over sea. They reduce in intensity as they make landfall and move away from open water