Hurricane Katrina woke the US, and probably the world, up to the power of hurricanes. Hurricanes are a heat driven engine. They pull warmth up from the ocean below and expend that energy in wind, rain production, and cold exhaust on the top of the hurricane (8 miles high). So how much energy do hurricanes produce? The total energy released in cloud/rain production per day is 200 times the world-wide electrical production capacity. The total energy expended sustaining those swirling winds in a mature hurricane is roughly half the world’s electrical production capacity. The total amount of energy expended is gigantic. (source: Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory)
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Let’s just say that you never want to be caught in a category five hurricane. And a recent article from National Geographic proves the point. The picture above is of ocean sensors that measured a wave 90 feet high and 600 feet across when hurricane Ivan was at his category five status.
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