what causes hurricanes like Helene and Katrina and Andrew to be so powerful compared to other hurricanes ?
In: Planetary Science
“luck” or rather the right set of circumstances regarding atmospheric and oceanic conditions: water temperatures, where the storm formed, where the other pressure systems “steer” the storm or where/when it might stall
Some of it is random variability, combined with the current state of the El Nino cycle.
Some of it is absolutely climate change loading the dice. [Atlantic surface temperatures have been historically high](https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-surface-temperature) this year. High ocean surface temperatures are like rocket fuel for hurricanes.
Add that to rising sea levels, and the storm surge is more destructive than ever.
For more details (and a slightly less ELI5 explanation): [NPR Shortwave – Here’s how Hurricane Helene turned into a major storm](https://www.npr.org/2024/09/27/1202000782/hurricane-helene-tropical-flooding-update)
I got this statement from the NASA kids page because it is the easiest explanation, but I will get into it a bit more
But before that I would also like to explain the difference between hurricane and typhoons because that is also kind of hard to understand, but they are both severe storms that are categorised under tropical cyclones
The difference is that hurricanes form in the western and northern regions while typhoons form much more southern and eastern
Now getting into the definition offered by the article I mentioned:
Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes in to the low pressure area. Then that “new” air becomes warm and moist and rises, too. As the warm air continues to rise, the surrounding air swirls in to take its place. As the warmed, moist air rises and cools off, the water in the air forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean’s heat and water
Basically our planet is covered in currents of wind and they do a lot of insane stuff, but it is important to know that air always moves from higher pressure to lower-
And another part is a principle of thermodynamics where everything that is heated expands, because air is a gas and not solid, instead of just becoming large it begins floating towards the sky
It’s basically a cycle where cold air meets warm air on the surface and that causes the cold to change into warm and fly upwards, forming the clouds
Up there the wind keeps spinning and the clouds keep growing, so when you have an especially moist region, like an ocean, and if that body of water is becoming warmer or is in general warmer, there’s more and more stuff to feed the clouds, causing the storm to form in a bigger way-
There’s also the added factor of how much it rained, which can cause water levels to increase slightly-
And thunderstorms which basically is the equivalent of throwing gasoline into fire
I hope I explained it well, this is my first time doing something like this and if I’m mistaken I would love to be corrected by someone.
Climate change. Increased heat in the ocean and the planet increases the intensity and strength of large storms like this
why does it rain different amounts on different days? it simply do be like that.
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