Jeff Masters -Hurricane Sandy's huge size: freak of nature or climate change?

[malaise]

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2293
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Hurricane Sandy was truly astounding in its size and power. At its peak size, twenty hours before landfall, Sandy had tropical storm-force winds that covered an area nearly one-fifth the area of the contiguous United States. Since detailed records of hurricane size began in 1988, only one tropical storm (Olga of 2001) has had a larger area of tropical storm-force winds, and no hurricanes has. Sandy's area of ocean with twelve-foot seas peaked at 1.4 million square miles--nearly one-half the area of the contiguous United States, or 1% of Earth's total ocean area. Most incredibly, ten hours before landfall (9:30 am EDT October 30), the total energy of Sandy's winds of tropical storm-force and higher peaked at 329 terajoules--the highest value for any Atlantic hurricane since at least 1969. This is 2.7 times higher than Katrina's peak energy, and is equivalent to five Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. At landfall, Sandy's tropical storm-force winds spanned 943 miles of the the U.S. coast. No hurricane on record has been wider; the previous record holder was Hurricane Igor of 2010, which was 863 miles in diameter. Sandy's huge size prompted high wind warnings to be posted from Chicago to Eastern Maine, and from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Florida's Lake Okeechobee--an area home to 120 million people. Sandy's winds simultaneously caused damage to buildings on the shores of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and toppled power lines in Nova Scotia, Canada--locations 1200 miles apart!

Largest Atlantic tropical cyclones for area covered by tropical storm-force winds:

Olga, 2001: 780,000 square miles
Sandy, 2012: 560,000 square miles
Lili, 1996: 550,000 square miles
Igor, 2010: 550,000 square miles
Karl, 2004: 430,000 square miles

[PDJane]

1. It's a freak of Global Warming.

[BlueMan Votes]

2. until it stops being a freak occurance and becomes the new normal.

which it most likely will.

[AverageJoe90]

3. I don't know about Sandy being a 'new normal'........

But repeats certainly could become more common.

[BlueMan Votes]

4. only time will tell...

from what i've heard- climate change will result in fewer but larger hurricanes and typhoons.

[AverageJoe90]

13. That very well could happen.

Lots of scenarios are possible, I think. Yes, indeed, only time will tell.....

[malaise]

10. For of these are this century - it is already the new normal

Olga, 2001: 780,000 square miles
Sandy, 2012: 560,000 square miles
Lili, 1996: 550,000 square miles
Igor, 2010: 550,000 square miles
Karl, 2004: 430,000 square miles

[madrchsod]

5. climate change

wait till the insurance underwriters raise their rates in the area sandy hit. people will be forced to move further inland all along the coast.


there could be another storm in the this week



according to the weather guy in chicago northern illinois could be squeezed between a cold front and the system of the east coast.

i live 100 miles from chicago and during sandy i was getting 20-30 mile an hour northeast winds...

[malaise]

11. Next week - off the Carolina coast

Should be a weak Tropical storm.

[Marrah_G]

6. More and more extremes

I believe it set a Barametric pressure record also. I know I definitely felt physically different during this hurricane them any before it.

[Tree-Hugger]

9. Correct

I don't remember the specifics at the moment, but Sandy had central pressure that rivaled a Category 3 or 4 storm. That incredibly low pressure had a major effect in the strength of the winds and how far they reached. This Summer's hurricane Isaac also had an abnormal central pressure that didn't match it's category. And Irene was also a giant beast of a storm.

[AverageJoe90]

12. That does seem to be the case. n/t

[sarcasmo]

7. Climate change and the deniers will deny until the bitter end.

[ananda]

8. Both.

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