The science behind super-strong hurricanes like Ida
Climate change is now an ingredient in every storm, including Ida.
Satellite image of Hurricane Ida crossing Cuba
NOAA via AP
Zoya Teirstein Reporter
Published
Aug 30, 2021
Less than a week ago, Hurricane Ida was known as Tropical Depression 9, a swirling mass of energy in the Caribbean Sea. That mass developed into a powerful tropical storm last Thursday, by which time there was no mistaking what would happen next: Ida was on track to become a major hurricane. Forecasters knew this with almost complete certainty for one simple reason: the storm was on track to pass through the Gulf of Mexico, where sea surface temperatures are unusually high.
Sure enough, Ida strengthened into a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, gathering more steam as it moved closer to the coast over tepid water. It slammed into Louisiana near Port Fourchon on Sunday evening as a Category 4 storm packing maximum sustained winds of 172 miles an hour and unleashing as much as 20 inches of rain. Nearly half of the state was without power on Monday.
“Hurricane Ida packed a very powerful punch,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a televised address on Monday. “She came in and did everything that was advertised.”
https://grist.org/climate/the-science-behind-super-strong-hurricanes-like-ida/
