here are the animations!
High sea surface heights are directly correlated to the heat content of the water column, especially in the surface layers (0 - 200 m). This is this heat content and not only the sea surface temperature, that supplies energy useful to the hurricane intensification. This is the case here: the hurricane takes heat above the Yucatan Loop Current and above the anticyclonic eddy which just has split off it. During its track above these waters, between 27 August and 28 August, Katrina has increased from level 4 to level 5.
we can observe the surface cooling correlated to the hurricanes track!
here's another prime example! with hurricane wilma
