If a storm develops off Florida’s gulf coast this year, a UM team will drop sensor devices into the water from Hurricane Hunter aircraft to record data on temperature, salinity, current, and pressure. The goal is to better understand the air-sea interactions involved in rapid storm intensification, when maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours.
Warm water, high atmospheric moisture, and low wind shear all play a role, but much remains unknown, and it is still difficult to forecast when and where a storm will undergo rapid intensification. “The beauty of these floats is that they enable us to sample quickly in the upper layers of the ocean and then, as time evolves, go deeper and deeper,” says researcher Lynn "Nick" Shay.
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