How Hurricane Melissa Underwent ‘Rapid Intensification’

The article here describes a phenomenon that can occur to hurricanes: their wind-speed grows rapidly.

Hurricane Melissa underwent what meteorologists call “rapid intensification,” exploding from a 70-mph tropical storm Saturday morning Oct. 25 to a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds by 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. It has since reached Category 5 strength, with winds of 175 mph.

Rapid intensification is a process in which a storm undergoes accelerated growth: The phenomenon is typically defined to be a tropical cyclone (whether a tropical storm or hurricane) intensifying by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period.

Questions (that our kids should be able to answer from their science classes):

#1 How is this intensification powered?  Faster winds have more energy than slower winds, so where does this energy come from?

Answer: It’s by unusually warm sea water — in this case, in the Caribbean Sea.

#2:  OK, but what provides the energy that warms the water?

Answer: The sun.  What we’re experiencing right now on Earth is called “global warming,” meaning that our planet’s atmosphere is trapping more of the sun’s radiant energy, which is heating up our atmosphere, as well as our oceans.

My wife and I have a friend in Kingston, Jamaica’s largest city, which is in Melissa’s crosshairs.  We’re rooting for you, Richard.