How Powerful Is a Hurricane?
In short: A hurricane is a heat engine fed by warm ocean water. NOAA researchers estimate its heat-release rate as more than 5 times humanity's 1990 energy-use rate, and less than a tenth of that heat becomes wind.
A 1:25 short film in the series “Invisible Atmosphere”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service JetStream, “Tropical Cyclone Structure”; NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division; Tropical Cyclone FAQ entry contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC), “TCFAQ A16) Why do tropical cyclones require 80°F (26.5°C)”; NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division, “Hurricane FAQ - NOAA/AOML”; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (Kerry Emanuel), “Microsoft Word - Lilly_KE_ver2.doc”; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Kerry Emanuel, lecture notes on tropical cyclones), “Lecture 4: Physics of Mature Tropical Cyclones, I”; NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, “What Is the Coriolis Effect?”; University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) / NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) News, “A cool setting for hurricane births”; World Meteorological Organization (WMO), “Table_Records_02Jul2024.pdf”.
Sources used in this film
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service JetStream — Tropical Cyclone Structure · View →
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division; Tropical Cyclone FAQ entry contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC) — TCFAQ A16) Why do tropical cyclones require 80°F (26.5°C) · View →
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division — Hurricane FAQ - NOAA/AOML · View →
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (Kerry Emanuel) — Microsoft Word - Lilly_KE_ver2.doc · View →
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Kerry Emanuel, lecture notes on tropical cyclones) — Lecture 4: Physics of Mature Tropical Cyclones, I · View →
- NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), U.S. Department of Commerce — What Is the Coriolis Effect? · View →
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) / NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) News — A cool setting for hurricane births · View →
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO) — Table_Records_02Jul2024.pdf · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), JetStream: Tropical Cyclone Structure
- Also: NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division: TCFAQ A16) Why do tropical cyclones require 80°F (26.5°C)
- Also: NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Hurricane Research Division – Tropical Cyclone FAQ (en: TCFAQ A15) How do tropical cyclones form ?
- Also: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (paper by Kerry Emanuel): Microsoft Word - Lilly_KE_ver2.doc
- Also: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (wind.mit.edu lecture notes on tropical cyclones): Physics of Mature Tropical Cyclones, I
- Also: NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), U.S. Department of Commerce: What Is the Coriolis Effect?
- Also: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) / NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) News: A cool setting for hurricane births
- Also: World Meteorological Organization (WMO): Table_Records_02Jul2024.pdf
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