Hurricane strength

[david diehl]

not sure if this is the right area for this or now, however
I have noticed that the hurricanes in the alantic are stronger than the ones in the pacific, can anyone explaine why this is, is it something to do with the open waters, or just a freak of nature.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Well, that's not altogether true. According to the basic Wikipedia entry on typhoons:

* "This makes [the Pacific] basin the most active."
* "[The Pacific] basin also features the most globally intense storms on record."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_typhoon

The top 10 strongest typhoons on record had central pressures of 870-878 mb, as compared to 882-905 mb for Atlantic hurricanes.

Tim

 

[Bobby Prentice]

...I have noticed that the hurricanes in the alantic are stronger than the ones in the pacific, can anyone explaine why this is, is it something to do with the open waters, or just a freak of nature.

Actually, the north Pacific Ocean (particularly the western north Pacific) is much more active and has many more intense hurricanes (typhoons) than the north Atlantic ocean. See the following link:

Tropical Cyclones 1945-2006

The primary reason the western north Pacific is so prolific is because it is the largest region of warm (>27C or 80F) tropical ocean waters on Earth.

Global Sea Surface Temperature Analysis - NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC Marine Modeling Analysis Branch