It is easy to forget that hurricanes are not always a bad thing, especially when they occur over the open Atlantic and away from land.

Hurricanes play an important role for transporting heat poleward from the tropics.

Hurricane Epsilon is a perfect example of a hurricane being a good thing. Hurricanes absorb heat content from the ocean and transfer it into energy, whether it's wind, creating waves or transporting heat to the poles.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Epsilon was a large and powerful hurricane strengthening over the central Atlantic. The hurricane isn’t impacting any land with the exception for Bermuda, where tropical storm conditions are possible.

Regardless of the strength of Hurricane Epsilon, it will eventually transform into a powerful Atlantic “non-tropical” storm as it moves north over colder waters. This means the storm will acquire fronts, where warm air moves north toward the poles and cooler air moves south toward the equator.

Hurricanes have always been part of nature and the balance of the Earth’s climate. A hurricane over open water will take heat and moisture from the tropics and move it poleward. 

Energy from hurricanes can cause a buckle in the jet stream, which results in a surge of cooler air flowing southward from the pole to the equator. The purpose is to balance global temperatures.

Of course, this never fully happens, as the poles remain cold and the tropics remain hot. As a result, weather will always happen and hurricanes will always form.

We will see this happen soon when Hurricane Epsilon moves over higher latitudes. It will cause a surge of Arctic air to plunge south into the United States, forcing much of the U.S. to see colder than average conditions for much of next week.

Hurricanes moving north is a part of the balance that keeps the tropics from getting too hot. The problem comes when we, living on land, get in the way. 

So enjoy the beauty of nature at work when you see satellite pictures of Epsilon or any other hurricane staying out to sea in the future.