Dear Tom,
Most of nature seems to have a purpose–the sun, moon, heat, snow, wind, provide certain benefits for us. Do hurricanes have any “benefit” to nature?
Sidney Winer, Louisville, Kentucky
Dear Sidney,
Hurricanes–indeed, all weather systems–serve a “purpose” and provide “benefit” in the sense that they redistribute the atmosphere’s heat energy. Their net effect is to transport tropical heat poleward, and, in their aftermath, the atmosphere is more thermally balanced. Without them, temperature imbalances would grow and ultimately fuel even more intense storms.
Heat from sunlight arrives in far greater quantity per unit area of the Earth’s surface in tropical latitudes than elsewhere, and that heat must be transported poleward (where it is lost by thermal radiation into space) in order for Earth’s global heat balance to be maintained.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
