I have a question.
Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:38 am
Is it possible that Wilma was stronger than 185 mph? Because I just read an article from Wikipedia saying Recon did not sample the eyewall for the safety of the people on board.
Here's the part from Wikipedia:
Hurricane Wilma existed within an area of ambient pressure that was unusually low for the Atlantic basin, with ambient pressures below 1010 mb. These are closer to ambient pressures in the northwest Pacific basin. Indeed, under normal circumstances the Dvorak matrix would equate an 890 mb storm in the Atlantic basin -- a CI number of 8 -- with an 858 mb storm in the Pacific. Such a conversion would suggest that Wilma was more intense than Typhoon Tip, the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded, were normal considerations in play. However, Wilma's winds were somewhat slower than the 196 mph implied by an 8 on the Dvorak scale. 190 mph may seem incredibly fast, but for an 882 mb (26.05 inches) hurricane it is in fact somewhat slow. (By comparison, Hurricane Gilbert, the previous Atlantic record holder, had a pressure of 888 mb (26.22 inches) and also had winds of 185 mph.) In particular, the fact that Wilma had, at one point, winds of only Category 4 strength despite a central pressure well below 900 mb suggests more than anything else that its pressure was misleading.[1]It is very possible that at peak intensity, the Hurricane Hunter aircraft might have missed the area of greatest maximum sustained winds because the aircraft did not actually pass through the eyewall at the time of peak intensity out of concern for the safety of the aircraft & the people on board.
Here's the part from Wikipedia:
Hurricane Wilma existed within an area of ambient pressure that was unusually low for the Atlantic basin, with ambient pressures below 1010 mb. These are closer to ambient pressures in the northwest Pacific basin. Indeed, under normal circumstances the Dvorak matrix would equate an 890 mb storm in the Atlantic basin -- a CI number of 8 -- with an 858 mb storm in the Pacific. Such a conversion would suggest that Wilma was more intense than Typhoon Tip, the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded, were normal considerations in play. However, Wilma's winds were somewhat slower than the 196 mph implied by an 8 on the Dvorak scale. 190 mph may seem incredibly fast, but for an 882 mb (26.05 inches) hurricane it is in fact somewhat slow. (By comparison, Hurricane Gilbert, the previous Atlantic record holder, had a pressure of 888 mb (26.22 inches) and also had winds of 185 mph.) In particular, the fact that Wilma had, at one point, winds of only Category 4 strength despite a central pressure well below 900 mb suggests more than anything else that its pressure was misleading.[1]It is very possible that at peak intensity, the Hurricane Hunter aircraft might have missed the area of greatest maximum sustained winds because the aircraft did not actually pass through the eyewall at the time of peak intensity out of concern for the safety of the aircraft & the people on board.