The Correlation between Sea Surface temperatures and Hurricane Intensity.
The hurricane is an unmatched phenomenon, which has the ability, not only wipe out an entire region, but can cause unforgettable fear in those that were unlucky to have encountered it. During the months of June through November, the tropical climates are prime areas for the formation of these deadly monsters. (BBSR) .
The primary ingredient of hurricane formation is the water vapor that has evaporated due to the constant heating of the tropical waters around eighty degrees F or higher. As this moisture-laden air moves, it has the ability to condense into a major convective complex, which can be sustained for days by the ocean. As more water vapor condenses, the latent heat of this condensation will continue to add fuel to the growth of this storm system. This process will continue unless otherwise interrupted by colder, less evaporative water, or land, which are areas where tropical systems will die rather rapidly. Eventually, this storm will begin to behave much like pinwheel, where the cloud mass begins to swirl around itself, becomes tighter and more organized. At this point, the storm has become a hurricane; packing winds at least seventy-five miles per hour. Another feature includes a well-defined "eye", or region with little or no cloud cover in the center of the storm. This area is dominated by high pressure, or sinking air, which inhibits lift. Found directly outside the "eye" is the "eye wall", which contains the highest winds, and is unarguably the most intense area of the storm.
The problem, however, to both scientists and forecasts, has been finding the exact correlation between the wind speed (intensity) of a hurricane and certain sea surface temperatures within the region. (BBSR).
Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Kerry Emanuel explains that there are three basic fundamentals that explain the oceans control over hurricanes.