Variables Affecting the Intensity of Atlantic Hurricanes
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2019 3:30 PM
End Date
19-4-2019 4:45 PM
Keywords
Hurricane, intensity, weather
Biography
I am a Senior Geography major with an emphasis in weather broadcasting. I look forward to the conference and graduating in May.
Major
Geography
Advisor for this project
Dr. Jonathan Kozar
Abstract
Variables Affecting the Intensity of Atlantic Hurricanes
Hurricanes are large, destructive storms that affect millions of people every season. They are infamously unpredictable, as there are so many factors that can influence how strong the storm becomes. The purpose of my project was to determine the influencing factors on the intensity of hurricanes. This research investigated 14 hurricanes for the 2005 Atlantic season, using sea surface temperatures, tropical cyclone heat potential, and central pressure as independent variables with the wind speed as the dependent. Research suggests that sea surface temperatures and tropical cyclone heat potential will have a positive correlation with wind speed because they found that the water temperature can affect both the heat potential of the water and the storm itself. Also, a negative correlation between central pressure and wind speed has been identified because weather phenomena show that lower pressures in storm systems tend to lead to stronger systems. Results indicate strong negative correlations exist between wind speed and air pressure while weak to moderate negative correlations dominate both sea surface temperatures and tropical cyclone heat potential, although variability across all the correlations were greater than expected.
Variables Affecting the Intensity of Atlantic Hurricanes
Variables Affecting the Intensity of Atlantic Hurricanes
Hurricanes are large, destructive storms that affect millions of people every season. They are infamously unpredictable, as there are so many factors that can influence how strong the storm becomes. The purpose of my project was to determine the influencing factors on the intensity of hurricanes. This research investigated 14 hurricanes for the 2005 Atlantic season, using sea surface temperatures, tropical cyclone heat potential, and central pressure as independent variables with the wind speed as the dependent. Research suggests that sea surface temperatures and tropical cyclone heat potential will have a positive correlation with wind speed because they found that the water temperature can affect both the heat potential of the water and the storm itself. Also, a negative correlation between central pressure and wind speed has been identified because weather phenomena show that lower pressures in storm systems tend to lead to stronger systems. Results indicate strong negative correlations exist between wind speed and air pressure while weak to moderate negative correlations dominate both sea surface temperatures and tropical cyclone heat potential, although variability across all the correlations were greater than expected.
