Scientists from Purdue University have discovered the reason why some hurricanes expand faster than others, growing substantially in size, and it’s linked to our warming world.
“Tropical cyclone (TC) size strongly affects its hazards and impacts,” wrote the authors of a new study. “This study shows that observed TC size expands substantially faster over relatively warmer water across the major Northern Hemisphere ocean basins.”
“The hurricanes see the tropical ocean like popcorn heated on an uneven pan — turning up the heat everywhere may make them pop a little faster, but it’s over the hot spots where the hurricanes will pop the fastest,” explained Dan Chavas, a professor with Purdue’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and one of the study’s authors, per a school release on Phys.org.
In a way, hurricanes are like snowflakes. No two are exactly alike. Some are expansive, spanning several hundred miles, while others are more compact.
“A larger storm has a larger footprint of damaging winds, generates higher storm surge and over a larger area, and produces more rainfall — all greater risks to society,” added Purdue postdoctoral researcher Danyang Wang in the school release. “Better predictions of storm size at landfall translate to better predictions of the hazards that pose risks to life and property.”
Hurricane Helene had a diameter of over 800 miles when its maximum sustained winds reached 140 mph as it strengthened in the Gulf during the fall of 2024. Hurricane Katrina’s diameter was about half that when its maximum sustained winds reached 125 mph before striking New Orleans in the summer of 2005. Hurricane Andrew’s diameter was estimated at around 50 miles when it made landfall in Florida in the summer of 1992.
The flooding from Helene as its moisture was wrung out over the southern Appalachians was responsible for most of the storm’s death and destruction. Katrina’s large storm surge and torrential rain caused the failure of New Orleans’ levee system, leaving about 80% of the city underwater. Andrew’s powerful winds, up to 165 mph at landfall, led to widespread damage, destroying over 63,000 homes.
These major hurricanes varied in size and had unique ways to unleash their destructive power.
Our overheating planet is amplifying extreme weather events.
According to nonprofit Climate Central, the warming of our planet has left a clear mark on many hurricanes, with higher sea-surface temperatures supercharging more powerful Atlantic storms. Their findings, detailed in a study released last fall in the Environmental Research: Climate journal, revealed that climate change intensified the majority of hurricanes from 2019 to 2023, as well as all those that formed in 2024.
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