After hearing about Typhoon Tip a little earlier, I found this page and graphic.

Typhoon Tip - 1979

This storm almost boggles the imagination. How can a single low pressure area drag around a circulation area that large? And tropical force storms winds 675 miles from the center? How did they get this information and verify it? It almost seems like a tall tale.

I also stumbled upon this chart (which is somewhat dated) that shows the most powerful storms on record (not including this year).

Intensity Table

My question is, without getting too technical, why are the 7 most powerful tropical cyclones all Pacific Ocean events? Is there some unique mechanism that allows storms to reach such freakish intensity in the Pacific vs. the Atlantic?

Thanks