Indeed, they do play a role, because they transfer energy from one form to another, Prof. Rk Naresh
A recent event based on this phenomenon happened a few days ago (July 2 at 10 GTM) when hurricane Beryl took thermal energy from the surface of the Caribbean Sea and went to category 5. Please check picture 2 of the BBC article and read how the surface temperature on the Caribbean Sea was around T = 30 C when the hurricane got very intense.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9r3g572lrno
A small Venezuelan northeast town called "Cumanacoa" was flooded by the increase of the water current in the river "Manzanares".