Hurricanes on Speed - The Hypercane

The hypercane theory was an accident, the StumbleUpon of the 90s. Kerry Emanuel, a professor at MIT was just trying to figure out what the highest intensity an ordinary hurricane could reach, but he found something entirely different instead. Emanuel, with his research team which included Nobel laureate Mario Molina, found that instead of hurricanes just getting warmer and creating new levels in the Safir-Simpson scale the intensity simply skyrocketed. The sudden jump in their models required them to classify it as an entirely different storm, thus creating the Hypercane.

So what exactly is a hypercane?

A hypercane is a theoretical extreme tropical cyclone of massive proportions that are caused by an extreme heating of the ocean in a particular area, probable causes being a direct impact from an asteroid or a significant underwater volcanic eruption.

During 1980 Physicist Luis Alvarez and Geologist son Walter Alvarez found something that supported the hypercane theory when searching the rock layers of the KT Boundary*. In the rock they found embedded in the layers of clay, something they didn’t expect. Extremely high levels of iridium, something not even commonly found on the surface of Earth- a platinum metal that is usually only found in asteroids and meteorites. And it was everywhere, all over the globe at the KT boundary ridiculously high levels of iridium were found. The only plausible explanation? .. An impact with Earth, and a big one at that. They estimated that something around 6 miles wide hit the Earth, causing the iridium to be spread globally, they also estimated that the crater would be about 100 kilometers in diameter.

And Glen Penfield had found just that while searching for oil, a monstrous crater underwater in the Yucatan Peninsula, The Chicxulub Crater.

The Chicxulub Crater Impact Site

I have to be honest with you- Who knows if we will even be around to see conditions optimal for creating hypercanes happen, and if they did how much warning we would even get… if we got any at all. But hey, it happened once, and it could most certainly happen again. I for one hope it doesn’t, cause then it’d be slim pickings dating wise.. and I don’t wanna have to repopulate the Earth- as my uterus kind of takes a liking to not being bombarded. For the foreseeable future though, we’ll just be stuck with slightly intensified storm seasons, with a lot more big ones. Always remember, if you see a storm that looks like it’s is going to hit near you or is tracked to do so- get out of there! .. And don’t forget to tie your laces before you start running like hell.

Who am I kidding though? If it were me, I’d be riding it out. Irene was cool, but I want a real hurricane. If one came I would most certainly stay behind to actually experience it.. but you have to remember that I’m Disaster Girl. If a major category hurricane came around I would also be very prepared, and not drunk like the other folks who’d ended up staying behind. I’d have a sweet boat, a life jacket, a water-resistant camera, scuba tanks and really do it right. None of that “I’m a survivor. I can do it with no supplies.” bullshit. Preparation is everything, and if you go at it with nothing you likely ended up being the dude that the coast guard has to spend hours rescuing (that is if they find you). You’ll go down in history as being the guy that decided it was a better idea to ride the current than actually grab onto something other than your IKEA sofa cushion.

xoxo disaster girl

P.F.S. Links for the Curious
MegaStorms: Hypercane
MIT Scientist says Hypercanes Possible
Hypercane Wiki

*The K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to (65.5 ± 0.3) Ma (megaannum, or million years ago). K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period

The F6 Tornado that never was.

For the first time ever Scientists measure the fastest wind speed ever recorded, 318 MPH, in a tornado that hit the suburbs of Oklahoma City on May 3rd, 1999.

Courtesy of GR Level X

Courtesy of USA Today

On May 3rd, 1999 a super cell thunderstorm spawned a massive tornado that struck near Chickasha, a suburb of Oklahoma City. The storm system tore through Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Moore, Del City, Tinker Air Force Base and Midwest City, Oklahoma, causing $1.1 billion in damage. Over 8,000 homes were destroyed, and it may have been the most costly tornado cleanup in history. Along with the extensive property damage, thirty-six people also lost their lives to the storm.

While the storm was winding down its destructive path, the tornado passed close to a Doppler on Wheels truck, which measured its wind speeds. It was estimated that the tornadoes wind speed may have exceeded the 318 MPH easily surpassing the older record set by the 1993 F5 twister with wind speeds between 257 and 268 MPH, making the strongest tornado on record.

There was much speculation as to whether or not this tornado should have been classified as a F6 tornado instead of an F5. Many argued that because the estimated winds speed had a variable of 10 MPH +/- that it should have been classified as the first ever F6 tornado. Weather experts argued back that the classification in the Fujita Scale was not entirely based upon wind speeds but based on damage and destruction. The tornado was never classified as an F6 but the Fujita scale has since been retired in the U.S.A. and replaced with the Enhanced Fujita scale which sets less wind speed parameters.

P.F.S.There isn't a Category 6 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, but if there was, an F5/EF5/F6/EF6 tornado would essentially equal a Category 6, with winds well over 250 mph.

Enhanced Fujita Scale Wiki

xoxo disaster girl