early Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Idaria intensified into Hurricane Idaria, setting its course over the West Coast and Panhandle of Florida. Sustained peak winds have already reached nearly 160 mph and are expected to continue to feed on very warm waters and strengthen until they make landfall early Wednesday morning.
Florida, including the populous Tampa Bay, will be hit by a triple hazard: strong winds, torrential rains, and massive storm surges that can reach maximum heights. 15 feet. The National Hurricane Center expects:life threatening“Surge to bring about”devastating impact”
Most people understand that hurricanes bring wind and rain, but it is the element of storm surge that poses extreme danger to coastal areas. That’s what happens when a storm becomes a giant swirling bulldozer, pushing walls of water toward shore. “The entire Florida Gulf Coast — the peninsula and the Panhandle — is one of the most storm-vulnerable areas in the United States, or even the world,” said Rick Nubb, a hurricane expert and former director of the Weather Channel. National Hurricane Center. “The only way to ensure survival from storm surges, especially the devastating storm surges expected tomorrow morning at Big Bend and Apalachee Bay in Florida, is to not be there when the storm surge hits.”
All hurricanes feed on warm water. Warm, moist air rises above sea level and pumps energy into the atmosphere. That moisture condenses into clouds and thunderstorms and releases latent heat, warming the core of the storm. As a result, air pressure decreases, wind increases, and the amount of water the system can evaporate from the ocean increases.
Idaria feeds on rising sea temperatures. “This machine is taking more and more heat and moisture out of the ocean and is using it more and more,” says Nabu. “Much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico has temperatures soaring into the 80s and approaching 90s. The Gulf region is always warm enough to support hurricanes, but this year Method Warmer than average, with record temperatures in many areas. ”
In general, climate change has dramatically warmed the world’s oceans, fueling super-powerful hurricanes. But atmospheric dynamics also play a role. Trade winds have weakened recently across the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean. These winds typically whip up deeper, cooler waters. But with less upwelling, the waters around the Caribbean and Florida are heating up like a slow boiling pot. “All of that was going from bad to worse for weeks and weeks,” says Nabu. “And now those waters are being used as fuel for this hurricane.”
As the Idalia gallops toward Florida, the wind is pushing a column of water toward shore. The stronger the wind, the higher the water level. Hurricane lows also create domes of water offshore centered under the storm. Due to the low air pressure in the sea there, the water level rises. “That dome is right under your eye and has very low pressure,” says Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. “When a hurricane makes landfall, the saltwater dome comes with it.”
