Hurricane Karl - Paper Sample

Introduction

The passage of a HURRICANE causes a large transfer of heat between the ocean surface and the atmosphere. It also causes surface waters to diverge, bringing cooler water from below to the surface (upwelling). These effects are so large that they can be seen by a drop in sea surface temperature (SST) in satellite data observations along the path of the storm. The cooler water conditions may last for a week or longer after the storm. Wind speed in a hurricane is directly related to the surface pressure of the storm. Tropical low-pressure systems are classified as hurricanes when their pressure is 980 millibars or lower, and sustained wind speeds are greater than 118 kilometres per hour.

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Hurricane Karl

Hurricane Karl arose from a very strong tropical wave moving from the coast of Africa on 13th September 2004. The tropical wave was experienced after the elongated trough of low pressure and westward-moving tropical wave interacted. It extended to northeastward across the northern part of South America and to the southwestern North Atlantic Ocean. Using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, hurricane Karl was category 3 of the storm that traversed the open central North Atlantic. The scale started indicating the signal on 1st September, and the signal lasted for several days. The wave reached the hurricane level on 16th September at 1800 UTC, and by 17th September at 0600 UTC, it reached the status of a major hurricane. Hence, the hurricane took place at Veracruz in Mexico at 1200 UTC. Hence, the hurricane lasted from 16th to 24th September 2004.

Experimental Steps

The experiment started with defining the hypothesis of the study. Data for the hurricane was obtained from NOAA and NASA website by recording the pressure and wind speed over the period the hurricane lasted. The collected data on pressure and wind speed was presented in a table with two columns, and then a graph was drawn to show the change over time.

Conclusion

The experimental study sought to test the hypothesis that if the wind speed is greater than 118 kilometres per hour and the pressure is 980 millibars, then the tropical low-pressure systems is a hurricane. In this study, the hypothesis as confirmed since hurricane Karl had the highest wind speed of 143.75 mph and pressure of 1008 mba. The maximum pressure and wind speed were greater than 980 mba and 118 kph making the tropical low pressure a hurricane.

References

Beven, Jack. Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Karl 16 – 24 September 2004. National Hurricane Center, 2004, https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL122004_Karl.pdf. Accessed 8th December 2020.

Franklin, James L. et al. "Atlantic Hurricane Season Of 2004". Monthly Weather Review, vol 134, no. 3, 2006, pp. 981-1025. American Meteorological Society, doi:10.1175/mwr3096.1. Accessed 8th December 2020.

Franklin, James L. et al. "Atlantic Hurricane Season Of 2004". Monthly Weather Review, vol 134, no. 3, 2006, pp. 981-1025. American Meteorological Society, doi:10.1175/mwr3096.1. Accessed 8th December 2020.

Trenberth, Kevin E. et al. "Hurricane Harvey Links To Ocean Heat Content And Climate Change Adaptation". Earth's Future, vol 6, no. 5, 2018, pp. 730-744. American Geophysical Union (AGU), doi:10.1029/2018ef000825. Accessed 8th December 2020.

Williams, Jack. "The Reasoning For Hurricane Names And Their History (Keep Suggestions To Yourself)". Washington Post, 2013,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/05/14/the-reasoning-for-hurricane-names-and-their-history-keep-suggestions-to-yourself/. Accessed 8th December 2020.