Sea Surface Temperature Variability in Hurricanes: Implications with Respect to Intensity Change

Abstract
Scientists at NOAA's Hurricane Research Division recently analyzed the inner-core upper-ocean environment for 23 Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean hurricanes between 1975 and 2002. The interstorm variability of sea surface temperature (SST) change between the hurricane inner-core environment and the ambient ocean environment ahead of the storm is documented using airborne expendable bathythermograph (AXBT) observations and buoy-derived archived SST data. The authors demonstrate that differences between inner-core and ambient SST are much less than poststorm, “cold wake” SST reductions typically observed (i.e., ∼0°–2°C versus 4°–5°C). These findings help define a realistic parameter space for storm-induced SST change within the important high-wind inner-core hurricane environment. Results from a recent observational study yielded estimates of upper-ocean heat content, upper-ocean energy extracted by the storm, and upper-ocean energy utilization for a wide range of tropical systems. Results f... Abstract Scientists at NOAA's Hurricane Research Division recently analyzed the inner-core upper-ocean environment for 23 Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean hurricanes between 1975 and 2002. The interstorm variability of sea surface temperature (SST) change between the hurricane inner-core environment and the ambient ocean environment ahead of the storm is documented using airborne expendable bathythermograph (AXBT) observations and buoy-derived archived SST data. The authors demonstrate that differences between inner-core and ambient SST are much less than poststorm, “cold wake” SST reductions typically observed (i.e., ∼0°–2°C versus 4°–5°C). These findings help define a realistic parameter space for storm-induced SST change within the important high-wind inner-core hurricane environment. Results from a recent observational study yielded estimates of upper-ocean heat content, upper-ocean energy extracted by the storm, and upper-ocean energy utilization for a wide range of tropical systems. Results f...