How fast can hurricanes get? Irma's at 185 mph which puts it in rarefied air for hurricanes. Faster winds speeds have been measured, though, in tornadoes and at the top of Mount Washington. It seems like scientists have a good hold on established upper limits of hurricanes based on the surface temperature of the ocean waters, but what about when that changes? Surely there are other limitations as well, including the rate and/or efficiency of converting heat energy into wind speeds. Could a hurricane theoretically approach or exceed the speed of sound? What's the max?
Originally posted by @fabianfnas If you sort it by wind speed you can easily see that there is only one storm stronger than Irma (185 mph) and this is Allen (190 mph).
How do you mean, "not even close"? Haven't you read the list yourself...?
I think you can find one with over 200. In any case our record of wind speed is not very long.
I was wondering what the theoretical max speed would be, given the established critical variables. I still don't know who "they" are, and what exactly you mean when you say "global warming super storm." What is that?
Originally posted by @wildgrass I was wondering what the theoretical max speed would be, given the established critical variables. I still don't know who "they" are, and what exactly you mean when you say "global warming super storm." What is that?
Here is a site listing all kinds of hurricane records, max 1 minute wind, Allen, 1980, 190 MPH but there are a bunch of other records too, lowest barometer readings and such.
Max speed of hurricanes
05 Sep '17 22:311 edit
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