When you think of speed limits, you most likely think of the signs on the side of the road advising drivers on how fast they should go depending on where they are. Limits within municipalities are slower than on highways due to more obstructions and pedestrians around. Even if you're on a highway, the limits may be lowered in areas with lots of twists and curves. Depending on weather conditions, you may have to slow down and stay well below the speed limit.
But what if we told you more than just people driving cars are subject to these rules?
That's right, speed limits exist in nature, too, and in this particular case, we're talking about hurricanes.
Unlike speed limits posted on roadways, however, that dictate how fast you should be driving, a hurricane's 'speed limit' is not a cap on how fast the storm is moving but on how high the maximum wind speed can theoretically reach.
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This limit is derived from a theoretical model created by Dr. Kerry Emanuel, an emeritus professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The model uses ocean surface temperature and the temperature aloft at the top of the clouds, as well as a variable factor dependent on ocean surface conditions, to compute how high the maximum winds in a hurricane can theoretically reach once the storm is at a steady-state of development -- when the storm is using up as much energy as it is producing.
The typical maximum wind speed limit for storms in the Pacific is about 322 km/h, while the maximum limit in the Atlantic is about 290 km/h. These limits were calculated using data from 2017.
It's entirely possible for the maximum sustained winds in a hurricane to never reach their maximum potential. In fact, most hurricanes will never reach their maximum potential. When hurricanes are caught 'speeding', it's actually a rare occurrence.
Both Hurricanes Patricia in 2015 and Irma in 2017 exceeded their maximum theoretical limits, reaching maximum sustained winds of 346 km/h and 248 km/h, respectively.
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Cases of rapidly intensifying storms have been making the headlines over the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, with Milton breaking the record for the fastest storm to develop from a tropical depression into a monstrous Category 5 hurricane in only 49 hours.
Milton had maximum sustained wind speeds of 285 km/h at its peak -- only 5 km/h away from the speed limit.
As ocean temperatures continue to rise with climate change, we will see this theoretical limit begin to increase, with more and more storms pushing the boundaries of their potentials. This has also led to discussions on upgrading the Saffir-Simpson scale to include a new Category 6.