Rapid intensification worries

Yesterday, just before going to bed, I checked the weather, thinking Otis was going to hit Mexico as either a tropical storm as it was in the morning or a Cat 1 level hurricane.

But Cat 5!?! I was not expecting a Cat 5 hurricane!

This morning I went checking the news to see what the weather was like yesterday and yes, Otis was a tropical storm in the morning and became a Cat 5 by the end of the night. As one newscaster put it, Otis intensified in less than 12 hours. This was a nightmare scenario.

The people of Acapulco did not have time to prepare. They may not have known such a devastating storm was heading their way. I didn’t know.

This is a great concern I have with hurricanes during the era of climate change: the rapid formation of incredibly intense hurricanes.

Right now, the waters are really warm and warm waters are a good source of fuel for hurricanes, especially when waters are warm deep into the depths. I believe the waters on the western coast of Mexico were hovering around 85/86 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the Gulf of Mexico, the waters are ranging between 79 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It also appears that the waters are cooling. Next week, shockingly, the air temperatures are supposed to plunge down to the 40s and 50s, so I’m hoping that the water temperatures will cool down too.

But it is a nightmare to think that in the morning you have just a tropical storm to worry about but then at night, a Cat 5 hurricane is barreling down at you. That is the nightmare – a Cat 5 storm appearing in one day. Acapulco had less than 12 hours to prepare.