Research Symposium

BIO

Living most of his life in Florida, Diego has experienced the havoc that hurricanes can bring. While personally experiencing the disruption of lost power and property damage, he recognizes the privilege in his situation compared to vulnerable communities and island nations that face more catastrophic losses. He is driven by the fact that better research leads to better forecasts, and better forecasts can save more lives!

A Comparative Analysis Of The Consecutive Rapid Intensification Of North Atlantic Hurricanes (2024)

Abstract

The increased frequency of hurricane rapid intensification (RI) events in the past decade presents a critical challenge to hurricane forecasting capabilities. While the roles of low vertical wind shear and high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in facilitating RI events are well established, the specific environmental thresholds required to trigger multiple, consecutive RI cycles within a single hurricane remains poorly quantified. This study conducts a comparative analysis of major North Atlantic hurricanes (from 2024) to target the environmental behavior of wind shear and SSTs which enable successive RI episodes. The goal of this investigation is to identify criteria that distinguish extreme intensification events from baseline conditions. This work utilizes vertical wind shear and SST data from EUMETSAT and UW-Madison’s CIMSS, highlighting the time frame during which hurricanes had undergone their RI cycles and allowing for quantification of key environmental drivers of RI.

Keywords: Meteorology Hurricane Forecast