Satellite images of smallest tropical cyclones on record...

Hyperstorm · #1 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:16 am

Lisa is one of the smallest well-organized tropical cyclones I've seen in my ENTIRE life! Bonnie was small, but Lisa is much better organized and on its way of becoming a hurricane. It certainly reminds of Iris in 2001, Tracy in Australia, and so many others, but this one is so extremely small.

Can you imagine this small tropical cyclone a category 5? I can't imagine so, but one could speculate the POWERFUL and DEADLY super strong hurricane of 1935...Labor Day Hurricane...to be just about this size.

Just picture this buzzsaw with a perfectly circular eye surrounded by some of the deepest convection...

Impressive what nature can come up with at times...

EDIT: Had to change title as topic of discussion has changed.

James · #2 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:20 am

Good point. :eek:

Seeing tiny Lisa behind massive Karl - strange to think that the little one may have the bigger impact.

Hyperstorm · #3 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:24 am

BTW, I would like this thread to be used for posting satellite images of the smallest cyclone you can find. There will be interesting findings...

Hyperstorm · #4 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:34 am

I'll start...

This is powerful category 4 hurricane Iris in 2001. Hurricane force winds extended only a mere 15 miles!

If Lisa becomes a hurricane, I believe hurricane force winds will not extend much more than 5-15 miles from the center...Impressive!

I'm just startled by this...

James · #5 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:36 am

How about Cyclone Tracy, which destroyed Darwin, Australia on Christmas Day, 1974. It had only a 50km radius of gale force winds.

Here is an image of it compared with Typhoon Tip:-

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/images/typhoonsizes.jpg

Here is Tip:-

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/images/Typhoon-Tip-19791014-noaa6vis.gif

And here is Tracy:-

http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/advanced/Met/index.html

Hyperstorm · #6 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:38 am

WOW! Thank you for the radar loop of Tracy. I was LONG searching for an image(s) of this infamous storm. I bookmarked it.

Any satellite images of this extemely small storm? or others?

ChaserUK · #7 Postby **ChaserUK** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:48 am

wow impressive comparison of sizes there - almost looks impossible does it not.

#8 Postby **mascpa** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:49 am

I didn't think a storm's size necessarily had anything to do with it's strength. Am I correct? Could size be a limiting factor in a storms ultimate strength potential?

James · #9 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:50 am

I couldn't find any satellite images of Tracy, but here's another tiny storm - Humberto, 2001:-

http://vortex.plymouth.edu/hur_dir/2001/atl_10_humberto01c.gif

#10 Postby **AJC3** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:51 am

This is a midget TC which formed just offshore Mozambique in June of 2001. It appears to be a scosh larger than Swaziland - the small country outlined to it's west.

Hyperstorm · #11 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:52 am

I have just found one! Here's one of the smallest hurricanes (if not the smallest) on record! This is the infamous Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

The satellite image was found in the link you provided. There are many others just before it made landfall.

Now that I look at it...It is small, but Lisa is rivaling its record...We'll see.

James · #12 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:56 am

In the link I provided you say? :oops:

Well, thanks for finding it!

Hyperstorm · #13 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:59 am

James wrote:In the link I provided you say? Well, thanks for finding it!

No, thank YOU for sharing the link. BTW, thank you to the people that have provided the satellite images.

ChaserUK · #14 Postby **ChaserUK** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:04 pm

ok then, what was the largest storm - are we talking of tip?

James · #15 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:07 pm

That's OK

.

If I may add another tiny cyclone, how about Hurricane Jimena from 1997?

http://dmsp.ngdc.noaa.gov/html/hurricanes/1997/jimena.vis.gif

I can't find an image of it that puts it into perspective, but it was pretty small I'm sure. Just check out how fast it strengthened!

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/1997H/JIMENA/track.gif

Hyperstorm · #16 Postby **Hyperstorm** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:47 pm

I think there should be more images of small cyclones...

Scorpion · #17 Postby **Scorpion** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:22 pm

Wow the size difference between Tip and Tracy is just insane!!! IMO I would respect and be more afraid of Tip just because its so huge! Is that the largest typhoon ever recorded??? Tracy looks like a tiny baby, amazing how much destruction it did.

James · #18 Postby **James** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:32 pm

I think you'd find it very difficult to find a larger storm than Tip. I mean, earlier this year I saw a picture that showed Typhoon Dianmu in comparison with Florida, and it dwarfed the state. Tip was still much bigger. And stronger.

Anonymous · #19 Postby **Anonymous** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:56 pm

Typhoon Tip and Tropical Cyclone tracy look extremely ugly for Cat 5 storms (I dont think Tracy was Cat 5 though).

Hurricane_Apu · #20 Postby **Hurricane_Apu** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:18 pm

Remember this little guy?

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atl ... /track.gif

Satellite images of smallest tropical cyclones on record...

Satellite images of smallest tropical cyclones on record...

Who is online