Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
I understand how the buildup of a hurricane works, but it is not temperature that drives it - it is a temperature differential. If the seawater and air temperature at higher altitudes rise equally there should not be a net effect.
If the sea temperature rises and the air doesn't - havoc.
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The seawater is at least 833-times more dense than the air.It's capacity to store heat energy is staggering compared to that of the atmosphere.
Diurnal air temperatures can fall,while the sea surface temperature remains essentially constant over vast time frames.
Dry air can kill or weaken a developing storm,as happened with Florence,and was hoped for with Michael.That's why so many at Mexico Beach and Panama City remained at home.They were betting on a Florence-like weakening.
Without shear winds or dry air available,Michael continued to feed off post-Equinox,cooler air and water as warm as 87-degrees F,strengthening until landfall.It was a perfect setup.Had the Gulf of Mexico been a little larger,Michael would have reached Cat-5.
The evidence is,that the conditions that prevailed at the time,were such to produce the 14-foot surge and 155-mph winds.NASA could provide the air temps and conditions aloft.
The fact that it happened foreshadows the future.It can happen again.
And since we're doing nothing to lower the burden of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,how does that bode with respect to even warmer Gulf water temperatures? Do you see a reason for concern? NASA does.