Powerful Hurricanes Intensify More Rapidly Today Than 30 Years Ago Due Largely to a Natural Climate Phenomenon
Hurricanes that intensify rapidly — a characteristic of almost all powerful hurricanes — do so more strongly and quickly now than they did 30 years ago, according to a study published recently in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
While many factors are at play, the chief driver is a natural phenomenon that affects the temperature of the waters in the Atlantic where hurricanes are powering up, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.A study led by PNNL shows that hurricanes intensify more quickly now than they did 30 years ago. Hurricanes like Irma (center), and Jose (right) are examples of these types of hurricanes. Hurricane Katia is visible on the left.
Stronger hurricanes in a day’s time
Last year’s lineup of powerful storms — Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria — spurred the scientists to take a close look at the rapid intensification process. This occurs when the maximum wind speed in a hurricane goes up by at least 25 knots (28.8 miles per hour) within a 24-hour period. It’s a rite of passage for nearly all major hurricanes, including the big four of 2017.
The team, comprised of Karthik Balaguru and Ruby Leung of PNNL and Greg Foltz of NOAA, analyzed 30 years’ worth of satellite hurricane data encompassing 1986 through 2015. Information came from NOAA’s National Hurricane Center and the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
Consistent with other studies, the scientists did not find that rapid intensification is happening more often nowadays.
But the scientists also looked closely at just how much the storms are strengthening. They found a sizeable jump in the strength of fast-growing storms — the storms are getting more powerful more quickly within a 24-hour period than they were 30 years ago.
The team found that the average boost in wind speed during a 24-hour intensification event is about 13 mph more than it was 30 years ago — on average about 3.8 knots (4.3 mph) for each of the three decades studied.
Several factors play a role when a hurricane gains more power rapidly, including the temperature of the surface of the ocean, humidity, characteristics of the clouds, the heat content in the ocean, and the direction of the wind at the surface compared to miles above.
- The amount of heat available in the uppermost layer of the ocean, known as the ocean heat content. The warmer the upper ocean, the more powerful a hurricane can become.
- Wind shear: The less the vertical wind shear — the difference in the direction and force of the winds at the surface compared to several miles into the air — the more powerful the hurricane can become.
The team found that the biggest factor explaining the increasingly rapid intensification is the AMO. The result comes in part from analyses using 16 separate climate models to isolate the impact from global warming.
“This was a surprise, that the AMO seems to be a bigger influence in rapid intensification than other factors, including overall warming,” said Balaguru, the first author of the paper.
The AMO governs how the temperature of the waters in the North Atlantic cycles between warmer and cooler, with each period typically lasting a decade or more. The cycling occurs for reasons scientists don’t completely understand, but it has broad effects on the environment. For example, it plays a big part in determining the heat content of the oceans, an important factor powering hurricanes.
The AMO has generally been “positive” — causing warmer waters — since the late 1990s.
Balaguru noted that while rapid intensification historically has occurred more often in the western Atlantic, that’s not where the team found the increasing strength of the last 30 years. Rather, the phenomenon is strengthening more in the central and eastern Atlantic, especially to the east of the islands of the Lesser Antilles, which includes the Virgin Islands and Saint Kitts. That’s the same area where the AMO creates warmer waters and boosts ocean heat content, in the central and eastern Atlantic.
That’s exactly the alley where hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria powered up rapidly last year. It’s a proving ground of sorts where many of the most powerful hurricanes strengthen dramatically.
Balaguru notes that teasing out the effects of the AMO from broader effects of global warming was beyond the scope of the current study but is a focus for scientists.
The work was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
Contacts and sources:
Tom Rickey
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2018/05/powerful-hurricanes-intensify-more.html
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex
HerbAnomic’s Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex is a revolutionary New Humic and Fulvic Acid Complex designed to support your body at the cellular level. Our product has been thoroughly tested by an ISO/IEC Certified Lab for toxins and Heavy metals as well as for trace mineral content. We KNOW we have NO lead, arsenic, mercury, aluminum etc. in our Formula. This Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral complex has high trace levels of naturally occurring Humic and Fulvic Acids as well as high trace levels of Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Potassium and more. There is a wide range of up to 70 trace minerals which occur naturally in our Complex at varying levels. We Choose to list the 8 substances which occur in higher trace levels on our supplement panel. We don’t claim a high number of minerals as other Humic and Fulvic Supplements do and leave you to guess which elements you’ll be getting. Order Your Humic Fulvic for Your Family by Clicking on this Link , or the Banner Below.
Our Formula is an exceptional value compared to other Humic Fulvic Minerals because...
It’s OXYGENATED
It Always Tests at 9.5+ pH
Preservative and Chemical Free
Allergen Free
Comes From a Pure, Unpolluted, Organic Source
Is an Excellent Source for Trace Minerals
Is From Whole, Prehisoric Plant Based Origin Material With Ionic Minerals and Constituents
Highly Conductive/Full of Extra Electrons
Is a Full Spectrum Complex
Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex has Minerals, Amino Acids, Poly Electrolytes, Phytochemicals, Polyphenols, Bioflavonoids and Trace Vitamins included with the Humic and Fulvic Acid. Our Source material is high in these constituents, where other manufacturers use inferior materials.
Try Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex today. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.
| Online: | |
| Visits: | 1,612,262,027 |
| Stories: | 8,176,518 |
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
Check out the Great Storm of 1703.
Hey numb-nuts, hurricanes are caused and directed by HAARP and Chemtrails. They parked the hurricane over Houston for 20 to 30 minutes. Laser beams held it stationary as depicted by satellites. Forget about Al Bores folly.
Here’s a good video to go along with your comment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka9Me-aOYL0