…very warm ocean temperatures in the vicinity of coastal North Carolina always provide the possibility for the storm to increase slightly in strength before landfall in the vicinity of the Outer Banks.
Signal: increased hurricane intensity
Global warming fueling La Niña’s floods and cyclones
Tropical Cyclone Yasi has been, according to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, the “most severe, most catastrophic storm that has ever hit our coast”. I asked Dr Andrew Ash, who is director of the CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship, if perhaps it didn’t just used to be really wet and windy before the drought and maybe we’d [...]
Super cyclone Yasi almost the size of the continental U.S.
Yasi is so large it would almost cover the United States, most of Asia and large parts of Europe. This comparison, shows this storm is continental in size. The main bloc of the cyclone is 500km wide, while its associated activity, shown above in a colour-coding to match intensity, stretches over 2000km. The storm’s scale [...]
Record ocean temperatures driving Cyclone Yasi
Cyclone Yasi, a maximum category five storm, is headed for northern Queensland, and is expected to affect a region that is home to more than 400,000 people. The “monster” cyclone formed in the Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Fiji, which gave Yasi her name. Alan Sharp, national manager, tropical cyclone warning services, of [...]
Largest cyclone ever to hit Australia hours away
Mass evacuations are underway in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent. Yasi has intensified rapidly and currently has winds gusting up to 295 kilometers per hour (183 mph). It is expected to maintain that intensity—equivalent to a Category Five [...]
2010 marks “strange” and record-setting hurricane season
November 30 marks the final day of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season–a strange and highly active season. While it was an exceptionally active year, with 19 named storms, 12 hurricanes, and 5 intense hurricanes, deaths and damages were far below what one would expect from so much activity. To me, this year is most memorable [...]
Record sea temps drive unprecedented hurricane Tomas
Hurricane Tomas, an unprecedented Lesser Antilles hurricane for so late in the season, is bearing down on the islands of St. Lucia and St. Vincent with Category 1 winds of 75 mph. Satellite loops of Tomas show a large and well-organized Cape Verdes-type hurricane, with good upper level outflow on all sides except the south, [...]
Hurricane Richard makes 2010 season 6th busiest
Richard has intensified to hurricane strength, as it bears down on the coast of Belize. At 7:30am CST, the aircraft measured surface winds of 85 mph. Winds at their 5,000 foot flight level were 97 mph, qualifying Richard as the 10th hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. This year is now tied for sixth [...]
Hurricane scorecard for 2010
While the average year witnesses 1 major hurricane by Sept. 15, 2010 has already witnessed four such super storms.
