HOUSTON – At KPRC 2, we’re dedicated to keeping Houstonians informed. As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston.
Question: It seems that after a hurricane it gets very HOT! Is that a fact or imagination?
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Answer: A hurricane is an intense area of low pressure or rising air. Rising air cools when it goes up, condenses and forms clouds and rain. Behind the low pressure a natural high pressure or area of sinking air forms (air has to rise and sink, it can’t just all rise and all sink -- kind of like waves on an ocean go up and down so does the air).
This sinking air, or high pressure, is what makes it hot because of two things: the sinking air doesn’t allow much rising air so no clouds or rain to cool things off -- the dry air is easy to heat up, and sinking air compresses as the earth’s surface and when air compresses it heats up.
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