Lowest central pressure of a mid-latitude cyclone?

[John Peters]

In the thread "post the most unbelievable weather map you have ever seen", there is a map posted that depicts a 928 mb low off the coast of Greenland. I can only imagine the horrific winds and seas this sort of pressure gradient would have produced over sea.

Can anyone recall an instance where a non-tropical cyclone achieved a central pressure this deep? I've seen category 5 hurricanes above 928 mb!

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

Actually, this thread now popped that question to my head... I guess you know now why I wanted term hurricane to be extended to Mid-latitude cyclones after one of such intense cyclones(not so deep though) hit Europe this January.

I don't remember any mid-latitude cyclones what were even deeper than that 928 mb one. At least in my side of the world.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

Look at storms off the southern coast of Australia during their winter. You will see several storms get that low every year. It's even possible to see two storms that low (if not lower) existing at the same time.

 

[Robert Dewey]

It depends... storms up around Alaska have a tendency to deepen really low, as heights are already low up there at that latitude (not to mention the water's effects on cyclones).

What's really impressive is getting sub 970MB over land in the central US. That takes a lot of energy considering the distance from water and the latitude. That's why I posted the 955MB bomb near Detroit - not that it's the deepest system ever, it's just one of the deepest land-based non-tropical systems for that latitude.

 

[Jim Leonard]

You can't compare a 928mb mid-latitude cyclone with a cat-5 hurricane. A cat-3 or stronger hurricane/typhoon has the steepest pressure gradient close to the center of circulation where as a mid-latitude there is a much broader gradient, also the strongest winds maybe over 100 miles away from the low center. Even some hurricanes while in the weakening phase they may still have real low pressures but the winds are much weaker than earlier in their life cycle with similar central pressure they're wind fields are spreading out. A good example hurricane Katrina at the time of landfall 923mb with 110kt winds. Normally in the atlantic basin 923 would support 135kt sustained winds. Some extreme cases very tight central core's hurricane Andrew 922mb, 145kts. Hurricane Charley, 941, 130kts.

 

[John Peters]

You can't compare a 928mb mid-latitude cyclone with a cat-5 hurricane. A cat-3 or stronger hurricane/typhoon has the steepest pressure gradient close to the center of circulation where as a mid-latitude there is a much broader gradient, also the strongest winds maybe over 100 miles away from the low center. Even some hurricanes while in the weakening phase they may still have real low pressures but the winds are much weaker than earlier in their life cycle with similar central pressure they're wind fields are spreading out. A good example hurricane Katrina at the time of landfall 923mb with 110kt winds. Normally in the atlantic basin 923 would support 135kt sustained winds. Some extreme cases very tight central core's hurricane Andrew 922mb, 145kts. Hurricane Charley, 941, 130kts.

I understand that you cannot compare the two, and i was not suggesting that this cyclone would have produced cat-5 force winds. You have to admit though upon glancing at that surface depiction that some of those pressure gradients could probably support sustained winds of over hurricane force over water, especially north of the low near the Greenland coast.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

I understand that you cannot compare the two, and i was not suggesting that this cyclone would have produced cat-5 force winds. You have to admit though upon glancing at that surface depiction that some of those pressure gradients could probably support sustained winds of over hurricane force over water, especially north of the low near the Greenland coast.

I have to agree. In fact, strongest ever cyclone what has hit Estonia was in 1969 November(see map) and it's central pressure was in 960's. But of course, this one had pretty nice pressure gradient, and it was a quite a bomb. On November 1, it was hardly below 995 mb over Baltic Sea and the next day below 965. 30 mb's a day, per wetterzentrale.de's maps! And in Ruhnu, highest measured wind gust was 107 mph!

 

[Jim Tang]

From memory, the record in the N Pacific was around 920 mb and the record in the N Atlantic was around 915 mb.

EDIT: just checked. The record in the N Pacific is 922 mb and the record in the N Atlantic is 916 mb.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/anniversary/recordlow1986.html

 

[John Peters]

From memory, the record in the N Pacific was around 920 mb and the record in the N Atlantic was around 915 mb.

EDIT: just checked. The record in the N Pacific is 922 mb and the record in the N Atlantic is 916 mb.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/anniversary/recordlow1986.html

This is exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks for the link Jim