Hurricanes

Module 11
What is a Tropical Cyclone?

Definition: Tropical Cyclones are

intense, rapidly rotating storm systems
originating over tropical or subtropical
oceans.

Hurricane Humberto, as captured by a NOAA satellite September 15, 2019.

Global Terminology – Tropical
Cyclone
• Hurricanes in north Atlantic and eastern pacific
• Typhoons in the northwestern Pacific
• Cyclones in the southwestern Pacific and Indian Ocean.
 Global – Tropical Cyclone

Hurricane Humberto, as captured by a NOAA satellite September 15, 2019.

Satellite image of category 5 severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa, April 2023.

Remember: Cyclones rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the southern
hemisphere.
Hurricane Definition
Tropical cyclones are classified by
their maximum wind speed.
• Winds less than 39 mph: Tropical
depressions
• Winds 39-73 mph: Tropical storms
• Winds 74 mph or greater:
Hurricane
• Major hurricanes have winds of at least
111 mph and can reach speeds of over
180 mph, with gusts of 200 mph.

*Sustained winds of for over a 1-

minute period*
 What is a Hurricane?
• Key Features: Low-pressure
center, powerful winds,
intense convective
thunderstorms, heavy rainfall,
storm surges, and possible
tornadoes.
• Size: Typically ~ 600 km
(375 miles) across, though
they can range widely. Size
doesn’t indicate strength—
wind speed, driven by the
pressure gradient, is a more
reliable measure of intensity. Hurricane Milton rapidly intensifies into a strong Category 5 hurricane in the
Gulf of Mexico on October 7, 2024. Credit: CIRA/NOAA
 Energy Source
• Unlike midlatitude cyclone - they
don’t have distinct fronts or
contrasting air masses.
• Hurricanes are fueled by warm, moist
air from tropical oceans, which
releases latent heat.
 Hurricane Structure
• Eye: Central calm region, warmest
part; clear skies or scattered clouds
with descending air.
• Eye Wall: Surrounds the eye with
the highest wind speeds and
heaviest rainfall; most destructive
area.
• Rain Bands: Concentric
thunderstorm bands around the eye
wall, producing rain and winds,
partially hidden by high clouds.
 Hurricane Structure – The Eye
• Eye: Located at the storm’s center,
the eye is typically a calm zone with
sinking air and warmer temperatures
than surrounding areas.
• Characteristics: Clearer skies, low
winds, and temperatures that are

H
warmer due to descending air
heating by compression.
• Size: Varies from 5 to over 60 km (3
to over 35 miles) in diameter. The
eye is usually smaller at the surface,
expanding upward.
 Hurricane Structure – Eye Wall
• Eye Wall: The ring of intense
thunderstorms surrounding the
eye, where the strongest winds
and heaviest rains occur.
• Destructive Potential: The
eye wall is the most dangerous
part of the storm due to the
high wind speeds and extreme
rainfall.
 Hurricane Structure – Eye Wall 1
• Rain Bands: Concentric bands of
thunderstorms that spiral outward
from the eye wall.
• Features: Capable of producing
heavy rain and strong winds,
though less intense than the eye
wall.
• Challenges in Observation:
Thick, high-level clouds often
obscure these bands from satellite
imagery, though radar can monitor
these structures effectively.
 Pressure Gradient: A steep
gradient near the center
Hurricane Circulation
generates rapid inward-
spiraling winds, increasing in
speed as they approach the
eye wall.

Example: Hurricane Sandy

(2012)
 Hurricane Circulation 1
Conservation of Angular Momentum:
• Hurricane-strength winds occur primarily in the
inner region of a hurricane, a zone about 160
kilometers (100 miles) across in an average
storm.
• Like a spinning figure skater pulling in their arms,
the inward movement increases the speed of winds
near the storm’s center.
• Outer potion of the storm tends to have gale-
force winds—winds > 50 km per hour (30
mph).
What happen in hurricane cone?
• Watch the video in the link below
• [Link]
Hurricane Circulation 2
Airflow Patterns:
• Ascending air in the eye wall forms cumulonimbus clouds;
greatest precipitation here.
• Outflow at storm top spreads air outward, supporting inward
surface flow and storm intensification.
Hurricane Circulation 3

Vertical Air Motion:

• Eye wall updrafts cause heavy rainfall, while downdrafts
between rain bands create drier, rain-free areas.
• Air reaching the tropopause (upper boundary) redirects, forming
further rain bands and sustaining the storm’s circulation.
 Hurricane Formation
• Heat engines fueled by thermal energy
from warm ocean surfaces and latent
heat from condensation.
• They form between 5° and 30° latitude,
mostly in warm ocean regions, where
sea-surface temperatures are at least
27°C (80°F).
• Conditions include warm, moist air, low
vertical wind shear, and a central
structure of cumulonimbus towers.
• Tropical disturbances, often initiated by
easterly waves, can develop into
hurricanes with a low-pressure center
and cyclonic rotation.
 Conditions for Hurricane
Development
• Warm ocean waters (at least 80°F / 27°C)
throughout a depth of about 150 ft. (46 m).
• An atmosphere which cools fast enough with
height such that it is potentially unstable to
moist convection.
• Relatively moist air near the mid-level of the
troposphere (16,000 ft. / 4,900 m).
• Generally, a minimum distance of at least 300
miles (480 km) from the equator. 5 degrees
from the equator. Coriolis force.
• A pre-existing near-surface disturbance. E.g.
Tropical wave.
• Low vertical wind shear between the surface
and the upper troposphere.
 Conditions for Hurricane Development 1

• Trade winds are consistent winds that blow from east to west in the equatorial regions of the Earth
• The trade winds can steer hurricane.
Conditions for
Hurricane
Development 2
 Conditions for Hurricane Development 3

Tropical disturbances that

produce most of the strongest
hurricanes that threaten North
America usually begin as large
undulations or ripples in the
trade winds known as easterly
waves (or tropical waves).

Streamlines (wind direction)

show low-level (surface) airflow.
Tropical disturbances are
associated with the convergent
flow of the easterly wave.
From Tropical Disturbance to
Hurricane Formation of African Easterly Waves: Disturbances called easterly waves
form over Africa due to intense land heating, creating low-pressure regions and
clusters of thunderstorms.

Development over the Atlantic Ocean: As the waves move westward over
warm Atlantic waters, the heat and moisture fuel the thunderstorms, helping the
system strengthen.

Organization of Thunderstorms and Lowered Pressure: Thunderstorms

organize around a central low-pressure area with minimal wind shear, which
supports vertical development.

Cyclonic Circulation and Intensification: The Coriolis effect causes rotation,

concentrating thunderstorms around the core and intensifying the low-pressure
system into a tropical depression or storm.

Evolution of a typical North Atlantic hurricane. Formation of a Mature Hurricane: With sustained winds reaching 74 mph, the
system becomes a hurricane, forming a stable eye, eyewall, and rainbands,
fueled by oceanic heat and moisture.
 Hurricane Decay

Hurricanes weaken when they:

1. Move over ocean waters that are too
cold to supply adequate latent heat
2. Make landfall
3. Reach a location where upper-level
winds are strong.
Hurricane Climatology
 Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, 1-
minute maximum sustained winds

Category mph Damage

Major Hurricane

5 ≥ 157 Catastrophic damage

4 130–156 Catastrophic damage

3 111–129 Devastating damage

2 96–110 Extensive damage

1 74–95 Some damage

Non-Hurricane

TS 39–73 --

TD ≤ 38 --

• The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 categorization based on the hurricane's intensity at the
indicated time.
• The maximum sustained surface wind speed (peak 1-minute wind at 33 feet/10 meters) is the determining factor in
the scale.
Global tropical cyclone scales 10-minute sustained wind

3-minute sustained
winds
10-minute sustained winds

3-second wind gusts and maximum sustained winds averaged over a 10-
minute interval.
 Wind damage
• Wind damage is a primary cause of destruction in
hurricanes, sending debris flying and impacting structures.
• Vulnerable Structures: Mobile homes and high-rise
buildings (especially upper floors) are highly vulnerable to
hurricane-force winds.
• Wind Affects Larger Area: Unlike storm surge, hurricane-
force winds impact a wide area, causing extensive
damage.
• Hurricanes Can Spawn Tornadoes: Many landfalling
hurricanes produce tornadoes, adding to the destruction.

Hurricane Milton (2024) - Florida

Storm Surge

• The most devastating damage in a coastal

zone is caused by a hurricane’s storm
surge.
• Storm surge is the rising water level
caused predominantly by wind blowing
water onshore.
• A storm surge is a dome of water often 80
kilometers (50 miles) wide that sweeps
across the coast near the point where the
eye makes landfall.
• When all wave activity is smoothed out,
the storm surge is a measure of the height
of the water above normal high tide level
Storm Surge damage
 Heavy Rains and Inland Flooding
• Flooding Risk from Rain: Heavy rains from hurricanes are a major flooding threat, especially for inland
areas.
• Rainfall Depends on Storm Size and Speed: Larger, slower-moving hurricanes tend to produce the
most rainfall, regardless of storm intensity.
• Extreme Rainfall Example – Hurricane Harvey: Harvey stalled over Texas in 2017, bringing
record-breaking rainfall of 40-61 inches to southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
• Elevated Terrain Increases Rainfall: Mountains and high elevations amplify rainfall amounts

Hurricane Harvey (2017) Peak accumulations of

60.58 in (5 feet), in Nederland, Texas. Harvey was
the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United
States.
 Hurrica
ne
Tracks
• Hurricane Paths Vary
• Steering by Airflow
• Influence of Trade Winds and
Coriolis Force
Detecting, Tracking, and Monitoring
Hurricanes
• Satellites: Estimate wind speeds, rainfall, cloud heights
• Ground Radar: Estimate wind speeds and rainfall
intensity
• Aircraft: Instrumented aircraft, dropsondes, and drone
aircraft
• Buoys: Oceanographic and meteorological data
 Hurricane observations
Satellite Wind and Precipitation Monitoring:
• Radar scatterometers on satellites estimate wind speeds by measuring ocean surface roughness.
• Satellites also identify intense cloud and rain activity in the eye wall, helping assess hurricane strength.

Aircraft Reconnaissance and Dropsonde Technology:

• Hurricane Hunter aircraft fly directly into storms to measure details of position and development.
• Dropsondes released from aircraft record temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed from high
altitudes to the surface, providing precise data.
Hurricane observations 1

GPM Satellite - Hurricane Irma (2017

NEXRAD - Hurricane Ian (2022)

Moored Buoys
NDBC's moored buoys measure and
transmit barometric pressure; wind
direction, speed, and gust; air and sea
temperature; and wave energy spectra
from which significant wave height,
dominant wave period, and average wave
period are derived. Even the direction of
wave propagation is measured on many
moored buoys.
Hurricane Forecasting
Forecasts help predict the storm's path, wind strength, rainfall, and potential storm surge, which are critical for
preparing and issuing warnings.

• Track Forecast Cone: The forecast cone shows the likely path of a hurricane, with uncertainty increasing
over time, represented by a widening cone. The cone width indicates track uncertainty, not storm size.
• Evacuation Planning: Accurate track forecasts enable timely evacuations from high-risk surge zones,
significantly reducing the risk of fatalities.
• Improvements in Forecast Accuracy: Advances in computer models and satellite data have made 5-day
track forecasts as reliable as early 3-day forecasts, though some uncertainty still requires large warning
areas.

Forecasting Other Characteristics:

• Rainfall and Inland Flooding: Improved by the GPM satellite and coastal radar, which also forecasts wind
and tornado risks.
• Storm Surge: Predicted by the National Hurricane Center's SLOSH model, with LSU developing high-
resolution surge and flooding models for enhanced accuracy.
Hurricane Forecasting 1
 [Link]
ence/forecast/models/modeltypes/en
Forecast Modeling semble/[Link]

Visit here to learn more about hurricane models:

[Link]
 Read more here:
[Link]
Forecast Modeling 1 ecast/models/modeltypes/stormsurge/
[Link]

The Sea Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes

(SLOSH) model (Jelesnianski, et al) is a numerical
model that computes storm surge.
Forecast communication
Resources
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ricane
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minfo/
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