What is needed for a formation of a hurricane?
Upper-level winds must be favorable to remove wasted energy but, at the same time, not be too strong to blow off the cloud tops or “suffocate” the storm preventing new energy from being processed. Warm waters typically provide rich, moist air above the water which is actually what the hurricanes use to survive. If there is no warm moist air, a storm cannot survive. This is why some systems (Tropical Storm Danny – late 90’s, and Hurricane Katrina) have actually managed to survive over swampy areas without losing much intensity.
