What Causes the Worst Hurricanes (It’s Not Just Heat)

Hurricane Lee redefined what it means for a storm to rapidly intensify.

Lee strengthened from a category one storm to a Category 5 storm in a span of just 24 hours .

Storms are getting bigger, doing so more quickly, and there seems to be more of them than ever.

In 2020 , there were a record 30 named storms at the time of writing this.

Typhoon Tip is the largest, most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded on Earth .

Typhoon Tip grew to a diameter of over 2000 kilometers , half the size of the United States . Typhoon Tip's central pressure dropped to 870 millibars, the lowest sea pressure ever recorded in a storm.

A merger between two large enough tropical cyclones could lead to the formation of a mega cyclone.

Seven of the 9 deadliest weather events of the 20th century were tropical cyclones that struck Bangladesh .

Climate change hasn't led to an increase in the frequency of tropical storms, but strength and duration of these storms have been increasing.

Scientists are working on better forecasts that won't only tell us details on the characteristics of a storm, but what types of damages it will create and how it will impact a community.