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Home » Consumer Information » Hurricanes » Multiple Storm Interaction

Hurricane Dissipation

The life span of hurricanes and other tropical storms can vary quite a lot - some last for only a few hours while others last for many days. Scientists have studied the forces that cause a hurricane to dissipate and come to an end. They have determined that there are several natural causes of dissipation.

Lack of water supply

Many hurricanes never move beyond the sea, because their power comes from the water in the ocean, and the water in the atmosphere just above the sea. When a hurricane does move over dry land, it will lose that source and therefore begin to die down. This process can be very quick, or take 2 to 3 days depending on the initial power of the hurricane. It is possible for a storm front to move back over open water and gain strength, but more commonly it will run its course over the land.

Cold water

Tropical storms will also dissipate if they move over colder bodies of water. These storms produce a lot of heat and can only thrive in warm water. When they are above water that is below 80 degrees Farenheit, they will begin to dissipate and will soon come to an end if they do not reach warmer waters again.

Non-movement

Hurricanes that tend to stay in one spot above the ocean will eventually lose power as well. A storm that does not move will continue to cycle the same water, and eventually the water temperature will begin to cool. Once that happens, the hurricane will lose its power.

Manmade factors

In the hopes of putting an end to hurricanes before they do any damage on land, many studies were done to find an artificial or man made solution to provoke the dissipation of hurricanes. The primary theory that was developed was to seed hurricanes with silver iodide. It was hoped that this would cool the water temperature enough to bring an end to the storm.

This concept was put into action with several hurricanes, but the results were not successful, and eventually the project was cancelled. Scientists later determined that seeding a storm would not actually have any effect at all.

Over the years several theories have been discussed as means to artificially dissipate a hurricane, but none of them have had any practical application. Hurricanes and other tropical storms are too big for any man made efforts to slow them down or stop them. Once a hurricane begins, the only option is to wait it out until it runs a natural course and dissipates on its own.