Maximum Potential Hurricane Intensity

[Valkhorn]

Just a quick reference point here for the rest of the season. If you're curious to know how strong of a hurricane the water temperatures will allow check out this link:

http://grads.iges.org/pix/hurpot.html

Let's just be thankful nothing has ramped up in the bend of Florida...

[bahamaswx]

Rarely do any storms approach--or even reach--their maximum potential.

[MGC]

Sea surface entergy content is rarely a limiting factor in the mean development regions, UL winds are. SST can support TC formation year round in the deep tropics.............MGC

[HURAKAN]

Sea surface entergy content is rarely a limiting factor in the mean development regions, UL winds are. SST can support TC formation year round in the deep tropics.............MGC

Agree, usually the sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea are favorable all year around but the upper level winds doesn't help.

[Valkhorn]

Yes but I did think it was interesting. If favorable conditions aloft are over a nice heat source then close to maximum potential can be reached.

[HurricaneBill]

Sea surface entergy content is rarely a limiting factor in the mean development regions, UL winds are. SST can support TC formation year round in the deep tropics.............MGC

Agree, usually the sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea are favorable all year around but the upper level winds doesn't help.

Isn't the Caribbean where out of season storms tend to form?

The all-time champ is Hurricane Alice which was upgraded to a hurricane on December 30th, 1954 and remained a hurricane until January 4th, 1955. Thus, Alice is not only the latest hurricane to occur in the Atlantic, but also the earliest.

[Janie34]

Even if a particular storm manages to reach a peak intensity, it can only maintain that peak for a relatively short period of time. I think all the factors have to be just right for a maximum intensity to occur. On occasion, this does happen as a hurricane reaches landfall on the US mainland. Two examples would be Camille in 1969 and Andrew in 1992.

[Derek Ortt]

Isabel was at or even slightly over its MPI. One should remember that a TC only uses a very small percentage of the billions of joules of energy that is available to the system through the release of latent heat (or potentially available through precipitable water). Therefore, unde rhte right conditions, it is theoretically possible for storms to go above MPI

[Stormsfury]

Rarely do any storms approach--or even reach--their maximum potential.

As Derek Ortt pointed out, Isabel was one of those rare storms that was able to reach its maximum potential, and that was due to absolute perfect conditions for Isabel to thrive .. and I mean, absolutely perfect ...

Remember, Isabel had very warm waters to work with, along with it's own parent upper level high, and remember the outflow channels? There was outflow in all directions with a dual outflow channel in excess of 60 KNOTS!!! at one point.