Cat 5&Size

[f5]

What i notice is that all the category 5 that hit land were all Charley liked storm except they were more intense the way i see it Katrinia done more damage beacuse she was a little overweight as a cat 5 in the gulf to Camille which was a little smaller the reason why.Was Katrina a little over weight to require a lower pressure even those when she was in gom she was 175 at 902 mb and camille was 905 mb 200 mph at her max my guess is it has to do with how fat a tropical cyclone is.

[bsuwx]

maybe this is why -


push a 110lb figure skater with 90 lbs of 'force' to make her spin
how fast does she go?

push a 200lb figure skater with 95 lbs of 'force' to make her spin
even with a little added force - she moves slower than our thin friend

even though katrina's maximum maximum sustained winds were slightly lower than camilles, she was a bigger skater to push.
(larger system = less steep pressure gradient)

the air had to move faster into the LLC of Camille because the distance between high and low pressure was less.

... just like you would roll faster down a 10 ft long steep ramp than you would on a 20ft ramp with a more gradual slope.

does that make sense?

horray.
al

[Astro_man92]

What i notice is that all the category 5 that hit land were all Charley liked storm except they were more intense the way i see it Katrinia done more damage beacuse she was a little overweight as a cat 5 in the gulf to Camille which was a little smaller the reason why.Was Katrina a little over weight to require a lower pressure even those when she was in gom she was 175 at 902 mb and camille was 905 mb 200 mph at her max my guess is it has to do with how fat a tropical cyclone is.

no I remember that she was 175 at 906 and 165 at 902 it was confusing

[senorpepr]

no I remember that she was 175 at 906 and 165 at 902 it was confusing

According to the NHC advisories... the 175 mph reading was suspect. While Katrina was 906mb, they were using only flight level winds to read Kartina's winds. That AF recon flight left and a NOAA plane came in. (Note that NOAA has SFMR capabilities to find surface winds.) When the NOAA plane made it's first fix, it found 902mb pressure with the same flight level winds, but the SFMR shown lower winds at the surface -- leading for the mets to believe that the normal conversion between flight level and the surface was too much and that the winds were never really 175 mph.

[NastyCat4]

The "experts" insist on downplaying Katrina--wonder why????

[f5]

Why don't the recon crew find the exact winds instead of using this conversion model

[senorpepr]

The "experts" insist on downplaying Katrina--wonder why????

Get a grip.

...and to answer your question, it's called reality -- not "down-playing."

[senorpepr]

Why don't the recon crew find the exact winds instead of using this conversion model

Normally they get a really good idea during eyewall dropsondes, but that can be rather costly. That is why the standard conversion is used.

[f5]

Why don't the recon crew find the exact winds instead of using this conversion model

Normally they get a really good idea during eyewall dropsondes, but that can be rather costly. That is why the standard conversion is used.

It maybe costly but at least we will know the storm's true exact strenght

[senorpepr]

It maybe costly but at least we will know the storm's true exact strenght

True, but the problem is the budget will likely never increase enough to fully-accomplish that. The other option would be to decrease the number of flights. However, that will never happen, especially after Katrina. The numerous flights monitoring her allowed for the phenomenal lead time and accuracy of the models. (Note... it wasn't until recon could do an effective synoptic flight over the GOM did the models shift to SE Louisiana.)

[wxmann_91]

Winds are overrated.

Hurricanes should be measured by barometric pressure, not wind speed. Wind speed is dependent on pressure gradients.

So in fact if anyone wants to say that Kat was a dud please realize that it made landfall as 918 mb (in LA) and 927 mb (in MS).

[senorpepr]

Winds are overrated.

Hurricanes should be measured by barometric pressure, not wind speed. Wind speed is dependent on pressure gradients.

So in fact if anyone wants to say that Kat was a dud please realize that it made landfall as 918 mb (in LA) and 927 mb (in MS).

I don't think anyone is saying that Katrina was a dud. They are simply stating that the winds were that of a category four. The surge, however, was of a category five.