Keith234
Storm Chaser
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Loc: 40.7N/73.3W Long Island
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From many hurricanes that I have seen on sat. imagery and followed, it's seems as though smaller hurricanes, ex Andrew, are stronger in wind and and overall intensity as compared to large hurricanes such as Hugo, which are usually a lot less weaker in the wind aspect and pressure. Is there a relationship between size and intensity?
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"I became insane with horrible periods of sanity"
Edgar Allan Poe
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Clark
Meteorologist
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There can be large storms with very high intensities; Hurricanes Allen and Gilbert were fairly substantial storms that were large in nature. I don't think there's a very high correlation between size and intensity, though there may be a slight correlation due to small sample size. Similarly, there isn't necessarily a connection between eye diameter and intensity; Isabel (for one) provides proof of this, with a very large (50nmi) diameter eye.
Size and intensity do seem to be correlated in terms of rapid development. Smaller storms can both gain and lose intensity at a much faster rate than their larger counterparts. Several different physical phenomena play a role in this; someone else can probably fill in more on this, as my mind isn't fully functional right now (somewhat tired). This is partially due to the smaller storms being more susceptible to weakening by shear and colder SSTs as well as strengthening by warm eddies in the oceans.
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Keith234
Storm Chaser
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Posts: 921
Loc: 40.7N/73.3W Long Island
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Thanks, I thought smaller storms were usually stronger because they had tighter pressure gradients but I guess larger storms could have a very tight pressure gradient too.
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"I became insane with horrible periods of sanity"
Edgar Allan Poe
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StormLover
Weather Watcher
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I guess is much more similar to Andrew because it was a small, compact storm with high winds and an intense eyewall, whereas Hugo was much broader and less intense.
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