What I wrote is basically correct but does have a couple of flaws/caveats. The energy potential in the top layer of tropical waters is vast. Think of how red and hot the stovetop gets to heat up a tiny bit water to boiling and then imagine how much energy a hurricane consumes when it lowers the water temperature by a degree or two in thousands of square miles of water in it's path! A storm uses up that energy too - but it is smaller so converts less latent into kinetic energy. It also doesn't churn up the warm top water layer as much. Nevertheless, it reduces the "food" a hurricane would otherwise use.