Are Category 6 Hurricanes Coming Soon?
Hurricanes and Typhoons pretty much the same thing: a big storm with large amounts of rain and fast wind. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific, they are called typhoons. There are 5 categories of hurricanes according to the national Saffir-Simpson AHurricane Wind Scale.
Category 1: 74-95 mph winds
Category 2: 96-110 mph winds
Category 3: 111-129 mph winds
Category 4: 130-156 mph winds
Category 5: 157+ mph winds
David Enfiled (Scientist and Oceanographer) said, “The severe hurricanes might actually become worse. We may have to invent a category 6.” This scale is for the wind speeds during hurricanes, not the damage done or the amount of rain. This article states that the reason hurricanes are becoming worse is because the seas are getting warmer. The other reason it talks about is that history is repeating itself. Mild hurricanes for a few decades and then severe hurricanes for a few decades. If this is the case then there are another 10-15 years of this active hurricane period.
Weather is fascinating. It is something the entire world has in common, something everyone is affected me. The fact is that hurricanes are increasingly becoming worse and there is not much we can do about it….well besides categorize them.
There is news that the Giant Red Spot on Jupiter is shrinking. Its categorized as an "anticyclonic" storm... I wonder what the similarities are between hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteA. Wardell
How does warmer seas cause more sever hurricanes?
ReplyDelete-SN
How does warmer seas cause more sever hurricanes?
ReplyDelete-SN
According to scenarios, the warming temperatures heat up the surface of the oceans. This will increase the evaporation rate over the ocean, putting more water vapor into the atmosphere. This will provide more fuel for storms as they travel over the open oceans. The reason being is because evaporation is endothermic, meaning water molecules will absorb heat to evaporate and that transformed energy now stored in those water particles will be release in the hurricane as it picks them up and adds them to it's already destructful force. Some scientist believe these increasing hurricanes are related to Global warming, the reason being global warming will effects the ocean's temperature and in turn effects the amount of water vapor in the air.
DeleteJoshua B.
What has been the pattern of hurricanes in the past? Are similar patterns occurring today and that is why the article stated that "history is repeating itself"?
ReplyDelete-Ashley B.
In the past hurricanes from a casual examination, do show a general patern. Storms move westward and later turn poleward. They then head back east and then poleward. Similar patterns are still occurring today. There are also still the same patterns or predicators of hurricanes (climate and wind speed).
ReplyDelete-A.M
I have heard a lot of claims that climate change is causing more severe storms and more drastic changes in areas climates. This article sounds like another such claim. The amount of water a storm acquires from the ocean due to evaporation and heating up of oceans does not correlate to its wind speed, does it? I do not deny climate change but I think the effect it is having on the earth is being greatly dramatized. Unless something happens to increase the wind speed or patterns of hurricanes, I fail to see how that will give us category 6 hurricanes. But, I am no scientist.
ReplyDelete-Alex G.
In your article you stated that global warming is effecting Hurricane size, do you think there is nothing to stop from typhoons reaching the 6 category? Even if we stopped global warming there is nothing we can do to reverse the damage we have already done to the Earth. The two questions to ask is that does global warming cause more frequent hurricanes and does it make them more intense? I researched the topic and this website had some interesting facts that can explain in more detail.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes/
JH
Cool article. I didn't know the categorization of hurricanes so that's good to know. Also, if history is repeating itself and it's going to be bad for a few decades because the ocean is warming and then it'll go back down for a few decades, does this mean that the oceans were warmer before? Cause I feel like people would say that linking more intense hurricanes with warmer oceans would be the result of global warming rather than nature repeating itself and running its course. -Chad B
ReplyDeleteAre there any differences between hurricanes and typhoons, or are they really the same thing, just given different names in different locations?
ReplyDelete-Mindy C.
The only difference between a hurricane and typhoon is the location of where the storm happens. In the west Pacific these storms are called Typhoons and in the Atlantic and east Pacific Ocean they are called Hurricanes. Kind of interesting.
ReplyDelete-LC
The only difference between a hurricane and typhoon is the location of where the storm happens. In the west Pacific these storms are called Typhoons and in the Atlantic and east Pacific Ocean they are called Hurricanes. Kind of interesting.
ReplyDelete-LC
Growing up on the East coast, I am well accustomed to hurricanes. It is interesting that Hurricanes and typhoons are basically the same thing. It would be fascinating to know what factors might lead up to a category 5 hurricane or if global warming is contributing to harsher hurricane/typhoons etc.
ReplyDeleteR.T.