Fastest intensifications

[arkestra]

Hello,

It seems these days cyclones are intensifying faster and faster... However, I wonder if somebody here has a list of fastest intensifications worldwide, to check if those statements are indeed true or not.

Thank you,

M.

[Evil Jeremy]

I don't know about worldwide, but off the top of my head, I know that multiple storms have bombed in the GOM. When I read your title, the first storm that popped into my head was Hurricane Humberto from a few years ago that went from an invest to a hurricane in 24 hours or something like that.

[StormClouds63]

As I remember, didn't Rita (2005) go from a tropical storm to category 5 hurricane in about 36 hours ... as it passed south of the Florida peninsula, north of the Keys, and into the east-central GOM.

[KWT]

I'm not sure thats really the case, it may well be more to do with the fact that we are just getting better at clocking when these RI events are underway, I'm sure there has always been storms that have exploded into life at a very quick pace.

[StormClouds63]

On a somewhat related topic, I think Hurricane Lili (2002) intensified, and subsequently weakened, at a faster rate than any other Gulf storm on record.

Went from a category 1 to a category 4 very quickly in the central Gulf, then weakened back to a Category 1 at landfall (east of Lake Charles). We have an approaching trough, plus the passage of Isidore about 10 days before, to thank for Lili weakening so rapidly. Had it been mid-August instead of early October, the results would have been a lot different.

Here's a nice write-up on Lili's remarkable weakening prior to landfall:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/new ... _lili.html

[ftolmsteen]

According to wikipedia Hurricane Wilma dropped from 981 to 882 mbar in 24 hours making it the fastest intensifying hurricane in the atlantic.

[Ptarmigan]

Super Typhoon Forrest in 1983 dropped down 976 mb to 876 mb in 24 hours.

[Tireman4]

What about Opal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Opal

[Ptarmigan]

What about Opal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Opal

Hurricane Opal was a large hurricane, even larger than Katrina, yet it under went rapid intensification. Also, Hurricane Ike did as well when it was in the open Atlantic.

[Ad Novoxium]

Typhoon Chebi in the WPac intensified 60 mbar in just twelve hours or, if I can understand the map, one advisory. http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/digital-typhoon/summary/wnp/l/200620.html.en

[KWT]

What about Opal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Opal

Hurricane Opal was a large hurricane, even larger than Katrina, yet it under went rapid intensification. Also, Hurricane Ike did as well when it was in the open Atlantic.

It wasn't that big when it was undergoing RI, it was only once it started to weaken did it develop a much larger eye...the eye was just 6 miles wide during Opal's RI....then grew in a huge way after the RI finished.

[Ptarmigan]

It wasn't that big when it was undergoing RI, it was only once it started to weaken did it develop a much larger eye...the eye was just 6 miles wide during Opal's RI....then grew in a huge way after the RI finished.

According to the Best Track, as Opal intensified, it grew larger.
ftp://rammftp.cira.colostate.edu/demari ... k_atlc.txt

Every time I see Opal, I could barely see an eye.

[MGC]

Lowest CP in Opal was 916mb, making Opal the deepest Cat-4 on record. NW Florida was fortunate that Opal underwent an eyewall replacement cycle before landfall reducing its winds to minimal Cat-3 intensity. Opal bombed while crossing the loop current, just like Camille, Katrina and Rita did. Key is having a large anti-cyclone aloft.....MGC

[HurrikaneBryce]

I know this isn't intensification but, Hurricane Mitch was a powerful category 5 with winds of 180 mph on October 26, 1998 and 3 days later it made landfall as a category 1 in Honduras.

[HurrikaneBryce]

Appearently Hurricane Ethel in 1960 went from a Tropical Storm to a Category 5 in 18 hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ethel_(1960)

[Macrocane]

Hurricane Felix (2007) went from TD to cat 5 in 51 hours according to wikipedia.

And this is what the TCR says about the intensification of Felix:

Felix’s winds increased by 115 kt – from 35 kt to 150 kt – in the 48 h period ending at 0000 UTC 3 September. In the 24-h period ending at that time, the winds increased by 85 kt. In the history of Atlantic tropical cyclones, only Hurricane Wilma of 2005 is known to have intensified faster over 24- and 48-h periods.

[jinftl]

From the NHC report on Hurricane Wilma:

It should be added that the largest 6-, 12-, and 24-h drops in best track central pressure for Wilma, 54 mb from 0000 to 0600 UTC 19 October, 83 mb from 1800 UTC 18 October to 0600 UTC 19 October, and 97 mb from 1200 UTC 18 October to 1200 UTC 19 October, respectively, are by far the largest in the available records for these periods going back to 1851.

The previous record 6-h deepening was 38 mb in Hurricane Beulah, September 1967, the previous record 12-h deepening was 48 mb in Hurricane Allen, August 1980, and the previous record 24-h deepening was 72 mb in Hurricane Gilbert, September 1988.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL252005_Wilma.pdf

[arkestra]

It looks there's plenty of different forms of intensification. Do you believe they are indeed intensifying faster or not? Isn't it just the means to detect such intensifications thar are getting better?

[artist]

I can't believe you guys haven't mentioned Charlie!

[Recurve]

I hadn't realized how many storms intensified rapidly but aren't known as some of the worst of all time...Felix, Ethel, etc.

Minor correction to StormClouds63 -- Rita passed south of the mainland and the Keys.

The benchmark for me is always Labor Day (1935) because its intensification brought it to cat 5 at landfall, from tropical storm within about 36 hours. No dropsondes then of course.

Wilma was indeed....incredible.