Super Hurricane Emily? Accuweather Innovative Ideas?!?!?

[HURAKAN]

As you can see, Emily is very close to the 155-mph plus winds needed to be called a Super Hurricane. Even as Emily loses strength over the Yucatan Peninsula Monday, the storm will still be strong enough to re-intensify into a major hurricane once the storm emerges over the warm waters of the western Gulf of Mexico.

Accuweather

As far as I know, we have Super Typhoons, which are cyclones with winds over 150 mph. But Super Hurricanes? According to what I know, no one uses this terminilogy for a cyclone. Except, Accuweather!!!!!

[jkt21787]

Inaccuweather again trying to take control of NWS duties

[Derek Ortt]

I have heard that terminology used for cat 5 hurricanes

[HURAKAN]

I have heard that terminology used for cat 5 hurricanes

But is not official, and they use it as if it were.

[jkt21787]

I have heard that terminology used for cat 5 hurricanes

Perhaps its been used unofficially, but I've never heard the NHC use it as an official criteria, like Major Hurricane.

[gkrangers]

Supercane?

Hypercane?

Its not as cool sounding as Super Typhoon.

[MWatkins]

As you can see, Emily is very close to the 155-mph plus winds needed to be called a Super Hurricane. Even as Emily loses strength over the Yucatan Peninsula Monday, the storm will still be strong enough to re-intensify into a major hurricane once the storm emerges over the warm waters of the western Gulf of Mexico.

Accuweather

As far as I know, we have Super Typhoons, which are cyclones with winds over 150 mph. But Super Hurricanes? According to what I know, no one uses this terminilogy for a cyclone. Except, Accuweather!!!!!

Of course...once again slaccuweather swings and misses.

I quote from the NHC 5PM discussion from yesterday afternoon, when Emily was at peak intensity, as a Category 4 hurricane at 155mph:

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 155 MPH...250 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THIS MAKES EMILY A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND EMILY COULD BECOME A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE AT TIMES.

Come on, guys. Seriously. If you want to call a Cat 5 hurricane a super hurricane at least get the dang wind range right. Cat 5's start, due to rounding, at 160MPH since knots are rounded to the nearest 5 knots in all official products then converted to MPH.

I realize there isn't much difference between 155 and 160...but they once again only get this part-right.

MW

[MGC]

I prefer the current SS scale.....MGC

[HURAKAN]

I prefer the current SS scale.....MGC

And that's the point of all this.

[MWatkins]

I respectfully recind the previous rant above...the standard in the Wpac is indeed 155+MPH and not 156+ as the saffir simpson scale indicates.

It still contributes to misinformation to the public since Accuweather is using terms that are not used officially, so still in practice it's a bad idea.

Would be nice if they at least coordinated with someone before changing the classification range for hurricanes.

I could delete that rant above but I tend not to cover up the times where I screw up...

MW

[BLHutch]

Its not as cool sounding as Super Typhoon.

I agree. Super Typhoon does have more of a ring to it.

Brady

[DoctorHurricane2003]

Super Typhoon ACTUALLY starts at 130 KT or 150 MPH.

[mike18xx]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Category 6 designation at some point to distinguish Ivan and Isabel-type 160/65mph storms from the 180 & up true monsters.

Since wind-force increases by the square of wind-speed, a 20mph increase from, say, 160mpg to 180mph up there means a greater percentage increase in destructive potential than from, say, 140mph to 160mph (and maximum gust speed increasingly becomes the most important measure of all as far as inland damage is concerned) -- it begs the question why there's comparative micro-differentiation of storms from 45 to 155mph, but everything after that is lumped together.

[Aslkahuna]

Supertyphoon as defined by JTWC (who coined the term) is a typhoon with maximum sustained (one minute) winds of 130kt or more (150 mph +). The Saffir-Simpson scale is NOT used by the official warning agency for WPAC located in Tokyo since Saffir-Simpson uses one minute winds for sustained winds and not 10 minute used by everyone else. The only people besides JTWC and our Military units in WPAC that would use the SS scale would be the NWS Office in Tiyan, Guam. The term Superhurricane has been floated out there at times but since NHC never uses it, it has never caught on. Inaccuweather is constantly dissing NHC and NWS and I suspect that this is another case of dissing. At any rate, the latest on Emily would not meet the Inaccuweather description of a Super.

Steve

[MWatkins]

Supertyphoon as defined by JTWC (who coined the term) is a typhoon with maximum sustained (one minute) winds of 130kt or more (150 mph +). The Saffir-Simpson scale is NOT used by the official warning agency for WPAC located in Tokyo since Saffir-Simpson uses one minute winds for sustained winds and not 10 minute used by everyone else. The only people besides JTWC and our Military units in WPAC that would use the SS scale would be the NWS Office in Tiyan, Guam. The term Superhurricane has been floated out there at times but since NHC never uses it, it has never caught on. Inaccuweather is constantly dissing NHC and NWS and I suspect that this is another case of dissing. At any rate, the latest on Emily would not meet the Inaccuweather description of a Super.

Steve

Yep...and I just looked up the definition in the hurricane FAQ...the innaccuweather scale is not a juxtaposition of the W-PAC definitions...so I hereby recind by post recinding my other post.

If they wanted to make cat 5's "Super Hurricanes" they were wrong. See above.

If they wanted to simply apply the scale from the WPAC they were wrong too...150+ would be a super not 155+ as I incorrectly noted above.

Some of this is I am sure a conversion problem when working up from knots...but no matter. I am not claiming to the "the weather authority"...they are...so the simple burden is for them to at least get it right.

MW

[gkrangers]

Mike, WAY too much thought into this.

Go stare at the infrared some more....its soothing...

[senorpepr]

Supertyphoon as defined by JTWC (who coined the term) is a typhoon with maximum sustained (one minute) winds of 130kt or more (150 mph +). The Saffir-Simpson scale is NOT used by the official warning agency for WPAC located in Tokyo since Saffir-Simpson uses one minute winds for sustained winds and not 10 minute used by everyone else. The only people besides JTWC and our Military units in WPAC that would use the SS scale would be the NWS Office in Tiyan, Guam. The term Superhurricane has been floated out there at times but since NHC never uses it, it has never caught on. Inaccuweather is constantly dissing NHC and NWS and I suspect that this is another case of dissing. At any rate, the latest on Emily would not meet the Inaccuweather description of a Super.

Steve

Yep...and I just looked up the definition in the hurricane FAQ...the innaccuweather scale is not a juxtaposition of the W-PAC definitions...so I hereby recind by post recinding my other post.

If they wanted to make cat 5's "Super Hurricanes" they were wrong. See above.

If they wanted to simply apply the scale from the WPAC they were wrong too...150+ would be a super not 155+ as I incorrectly noted above.

Some of this is I am sure a conversion problem when working up from knots...but no matter. I am not claiming to the "the weather authority"...they are...so the simple burden is for them to at least get it right.

MW

Actually, as Aslkahuna mentioned, "Super" is a military term for 130kt or greater. In several military documents, they refer to storms in the Atlantic basin as Super Hurricanes if they are 130kt or greater. Dennis and Emily both fit the super hurricane category, based on the US military guidelines. Regardless, the NHC, which is the official RSMC, does not use that term.

[Thunder44]

I don't see the big deal nor do a see this as another lam NHC. To me the term "Super" is just hype up a really strong hurricane as if it were different storm of some sort. It's just a stupid graph.

[Hurricaneman]

How could they come up with such a graph

[Swimdude]

*Shakes head* Trying to get away from the standard, apparently... Unnecessary, HOWEVER, it would alert those who are completely ignorant to how the SS Scale works that a disaster is coming their way.