Could monster Mitch of been stronger?

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/dis/NAL1398.021
A WIND SPEED OF 173 KNOTS WAS MEASURED FROM A GPS
DROPSONDE AT 500 FT AT ABOUT 1900Z.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/dis/NAL1398.022

Since that wind was found at only 500 feet then the surface wind should be around 165 knots. From the 850 millibar level we don't even use this big of a decrease. Could this monster of been stronger then what we think?


Yes I'v got looking through the old Advisories.

[Derek Ortt]

actually, 173KT at 500 feet probably does not even justify a 155KT surface wind.

There is a logrithmic increase in the wind speed with height. Based upon those winds, maybe 145-150KT is more reasonable, not 155

[frederic79]

From the NHC Archives on Mitch...

On the afternoon of the 26th, the central pressure reached a minimum of 905 mb, while the cyclone was centered about 50 n mi southeast of Swan Island. This pressure is the fourth lowest ever measured in an Atlantic hurricane, tied with Hurricane Camille in 1969. This is also the lowest pressure ever observed in an October hurricane in the Atlantic basin. Prior to Mitch, the strongest measured October hurricane in the northwest Caribbean was Hurricane Hattie in 1961 with a central pressure of 924 mb. At its peak on the 26th, Mitch's maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds were estimated to be 155 knots, a category five hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale.