Largest eye ever recorded in a hurricane?

[HurricaneBill]

are we talking internationaly because i think tyhoon tip had to be pretty big

I think Tip was 1100 miles in diameter, the largest tropical cyclone on record.

However, I think Tip had more of a "pinhole" eye.

[tbstorm]

across the entire peninsula.
Sustained Category 2 winds were recorded over Lake Ockeechobee

A gust was recorded to 76 mph in southern St. Pete by an
unofficial source...and that's over 100 miles northwest of center.

yes i live in st. pete. and we had wind gusts here of at least 60 mph

Uh... more like 45 mph. I'd like to see this 76 mph source and the time.

[tbstorm]

(NWS Graphic)

Ok I'll give you 60 on the winds on the Pinellas Beaches at the water but 76 is too high.

[Weatherfreak14]

Any Satilite pics of the biggest eye that can be found.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

across the entire peninsula.
Sustained Category 2 winds were recorded over Lake Ockeechobee

A gust was recorded to 76 mph in southern St. Pete by an
unofficial source...and that's over 100 miles northwest of center.

yes i live in st. pete. and we had wind gusts here of at least 60 mph

Uh... more like 45 mph. I'd like to see this 76 mph source and the time.

Local news station baynews9 announced it that morning. I think a reporter was using a measuring device.
I'm not sure
But it was a wind device but it is an UNOFFICIAL measurement so
I have no way to confirm it...so I said unofficial in the original
post....sorry no confirmation currently

[weunice]

Any Satilite pics of the biggest eye that can be found.

Calamity posted this in the huge images thread (see page 9)

"Jelawat undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle, she(?) now has a 90nm eye:"

[weatherluvr]

Donna had a 100 mile wide eye as she made landfall on Long Island in 1960.

Wow at the 200 mile eye... now that's a donut.

[Jim Cantore]

I think wilma after moving off of floridas east coast had to have had its eye at 85 miles wide

the same storm that had an eye only 2 miles wide 5 days earlier

[Aslkahuna]

Was that peak wind graphic peak gusts or peak sustained? Jelawat was an it as most WPAC names are genderless since they are names of natural objects or events with some exceptions such as Longwang which was a male mythical Diety. BTW, I believe that 200 mile diameter eye was recorded before we got operational weather satellites in 1966.

Steve

[Epsilon_Fan]

Bringing this back from the dead I remember back when I was younger I watched TWC's tropical update alot and clearly remember that Hurricane Tina back in 92 had a huge eye before it weakened. I remember it lasted for a while and was fairly far south and maintained a proportionally huge eye while it remained a Cat 1. I can't find any pictures of Tina except ones when it was a strong storm.

Hurricanes look better with larger eyes in my opinion but I was impressed by Wilma's pinhole this past year!

[Extremeweatherguy]

what was wilma crossing the penisula??? had to be close

it was a tropical storm crossing the peninsula....

Derek even said that it might be upgraded to a Cat 4 crossing Florida.

why? all major cities on the east coast (Miami, Palm Beach, etc.) did not report wind gusts higher than 115mph. So it deffinately was not when it reached the east coast. May be right at landfall where not too many people lived it was, but in the major cities there is no way that she was a 4.

[Margie]

Derek even said that it [Wilma] might be upgraded to a Cat 4 crossing Florida.

Take out the last two words and that is a little closer to the truth. But actually not that close.

What Derek said to me, was that flight level wind measurements support the possibility of Cat 4 winds at the surface. He didn't say specifically where, or when.

It may simply be a reference to the Bahamas.

Otherwise, in all likelyhood not on land...probably prior to Fl landfall, I'd guess when it was NW of the Keys. That is not out of the realm of reasonable possibility, from measured and estimated wind values that can be extrapolated from what was measured at the Keys and Dry Tortugas. That was how I immediately interpreted what he said, anyway, because that was the thing that made sense.

However, if at FL landfall, that would be extremely hard to believe. If so, then it will be interesting to see how it would be possible to justify deviation from all the existing wind measurements across FL, and the AOML HRD model analysis showing a max sustained wind on land at FL landfall of 85 kt (and that only in the very small area of immediate coastline on either side of Big Lostman's Bay), to a jump to 114kt sustained winds (presumably in that same small area). If the model is performing that badly -- off by 29 kts -- I'd be surprised. And that max of 85 kts is less than the max sustained wind the model came up with for Katrina, which it correctly placed in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.

Remember the Katrina report said there was a possibility of Cat 4 winds reaching some of the LA peninsula when making landfall there, even while wind measurements resulted in the identification of Katrina as a Cat 3 at that time.

It is possible that Wilma could similarly be upgraded to a Cat 4 for the time when it was passing to the NW of the Keys, with its strongest winds to the SE of the eye, with the possibility that some Cat 4 winds did reach the Dry Tortugas.

That still leaves Wilma, like Katrina, as a Cat 3 storm just offshore as it made landfall, but with no sustained Cat 3 winds onshore.

[Wirbelsturm]

Derek even said that it [Wilma] might be upgraded to a Cat 4 crossing Florida.

Take out the last two words and that is a little closer to the truth. But actually not that close.

What Derek said to me, was that flight level wind measurements support the possibility of Cat 4 winds at the surface. He didn't say specifically where, or when.

It may simply be a reference to the Bahamas.

Otherwise, in all likelyhood not on land...probably prior to Fl landfall, I'd guess when it was NW of the Keys. That is not out of the realm of reasonable possibility, from measured and estimated wind values that can be extrapolated from what was measured at the Keys and Dry Tortugas. That was how I immediately interpreted what he said, anyway, because that was the thing that made sense.

However, if at FL landfall, that would be extremely hard to believe. If so, then it will be interesting to see how it would be possible to justify deviation from all the existing wind measurements across FL, and the AOML HRD model analysis showing a max sustained wind on land at FL landfall of 85 kt (and that only in the very small area of immediate coastline on either side of Big Lostman's Bay), to a jump to 114kt sustained winds (presumably in that same small area). If the model is performing that badly -- off by 29 kts -- I'd be surprised. And that max of 85 kts is less than the max sustained wind the model came up with for Katrina, which it correctly placed in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.

Remember the Katrina report said there was a possibility of Cat 4 winds reaching some of the LA peninsula when making landfall there, even while wind measurements resulted in the identification of Katrina as a Cat 3 at that time.

It is possible that Wilma could similarly be upgraded to a Cat 4 for the time when it was passing to the NW of the Keys, with its strongest winds to the SE of the eye, with the possibility that some Cat 4 winds did reach the Dry Tortugas.

That still leaves Wilma, like Katrina, as a Cat 3 storm just offshore as it made landfall, but with no sustained Cat 3 winds onshore.

Actually, HRD shows a maximum of 100 kt for Wilma at landfall; also, unlike Katrina, Wilma was strengthening as it made landfall. Every reason to believe remote areas of the southwest Everglades experienced cat 3 winds. And why do you say Katrina didn't have cat 3 winds at landfall, HRD supported minimal cat 3?

[mike815]

hmmm wilma was even possibly a 4 at landfall she packed a big punch

[Margie]

Look a little closer at the diagram, Wirbelsturm...85kts on land. 100kts over water doesn't count. Winds die down immediately at landfall due to friction with land.

[Derek Ortt]

In incorrect reduction method appears to have been used by HRD for the H-Wind analysis of Wilma's landfall.

Wilma may be upgraded to a 4 as it hit the WC... but NOBODY experienced cat 4 winds because NOBODY lives in mainland Monroe. They Keys experienced cat 1 winds as they missed the eye wall, and the metro areas in the east that were hit so hard experienced mainly cat 1 winds, with isolated cat 2 pockets

NOBODY even experienced cat 3 winds on land from Wilma. Any upgrade is purely a scientific point of debate, not a measure of what anyone received

[Extremeweatherguy]

I could believe a *weak* Category 4 at landfall, but I doubt it. Her eye was very ill-shaped and ragged at landfall, and I would have a hard time believing she was a 4. I do, however, think Wilma may have been a *stronger* Cat. 3 at landfall (may be 130mph). By the time she reached Miami though (since her structure was not the best for maintaining intensity), she was probably only a strong Cat. 1, and re-strengthening to a Cat. 2 after reaching the Atlantic. As for a 4 *crossing* the state...there is no way. Were that the case, then we would have seen much worse damage on the east coast.

[WindRunner]

I could believe a *weak* Category 4 at landfall, but I doubt it. Her eye was very ill-shaped and ragged at landfall, and I would have a hard time believing she was a 4. I do, however, think Wilma may have been a *stronger* Cat. 3 at landfall (may be 130mph). By the time she reached Miami though (since her structure was not the best for maintaining intensity), she was probably only a strong Cat. 1, and re-strengthening to a Cat. 2 after reaching the Atlantic. As for a 4 *crossing* the state...there is no way. Were that the case, then we would have seen much worse damage on the east coast.

I feel there is an even 50/50 chance of seeing an upgrade to a 4 at landfall, and weakening at most to a mid-range 2 by the time she exited. Her structure actually wasn't that bad for maintaining intensity as she was starting to undergo ET transition, and was beginning to gain some energy from barclinic sources, meaning that the fact she was moving over land would have less of an effect on her intensity than it would on a normal, completely tropical system. Also, if nothing else, her forward speed would have had her maintain at least a Cat 2 intensity while shooting northward over FL. A Cat 1, though? No way.

[Derek Ortt]

if it was a 4, it was a 115KT 4

no populated area received anything more than 95KT sustained and those were close to the Lake

[Astro_man92]

Any Satilite pics of the biggest eye that can be found.

Calamity posted this in the huge images thread (see page 9)

"Jelawat undergoes an eyewall replacement cycle, she(?) now has a 90nm eye:"

What year was that???