Final answer:
A storm becomes a hurricane when it reaches a sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour. The stated speed of 200 km/h is well above this threshold, so a storm with such a speed qualifies as a hurricane. Hurricanes gain their tremendous destructive power from high wind speeds and the cube power scaling of wind velocity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a storm reaches a sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour (approximately 119 km/h), it is classified as a hurricane. The question mentions a speed of 200 km/h, which is significantly above this threshold, indicating that such a storm would indeed be categorized as a hurricane. Hurricanes are potent due to their intense wind speeds, and their destructive power increases drastically with wind speed, scaling as the cube of velocity. Hurricanes originate from tropical depressions, develop into tropical storms, and finally reach hurricane status when the required wind speed is achieved.
Hurricanes form over warm water with temperatures above 80 °F. They involve rapidly rising and cooling air that leads to heavy rains and cyclonic patterns influenced by the rotation of the Earth. The definition of hurricane strength is based on wind speed, which makes understanding the dynamics of wind crucial when studying these natural phenomena. For instance, a hurricane-strength wind of 50 m/s is substantially more powerful than a light breeze of 5 m/s, reflecting the massive potential for destruction that hurricanes possess.