From Category 1 to 5: Maria's intensification

-
1:50
Snow lasts through Monday and is followed up by single digit...
-
1:08
Some wintry weather this morning; cloudy and breezy afternoon
-
4:00
Local nonprofit celebrates 21 years of providing grief support...
-
1:33
Notre Dame tops Louisville at home
-
2:11
Winter weather advisory heading into Sunday morning, plunging...
-
1:14
Wintry mix Saturday night; temperatures start to fall Sunday
-
1:03
Local flag football team gets national treatment
-
0:17
electric buses are coming to town
-
3:29
Senate Bill could expand Four Winds Field, $5 million yearly...
-
1:26
Another round of wintry weather, Saturday night
-
0:54
Three suspects arrested in connection with homicide of Leon Johnson
-
2:33
New studies show increase in nicotine use among youth
Yesterday, Hurricane Maria was only a Category 1 storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90 mph. This morning, it has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 monster with 160 mph! How can a hurricane grow so powerful in a short amount of time? Well, there are a couple of factors that go into it.
First, the waters around the Caribbean are very warm, around the low to mid 80s. This is the perfect temperature range for developing and sustaining hurricanes. These storms need the very warm ocean waters, which Maria had direct access to as it slowly approached Dominica yesterday. Second, The atmosphere directly above the Caribbean is very quiet, meaning there is not much wind shear. Wind shear, which is the change in wind speed and/or direction with height in the atmosphere, can kill hurricane development as opposing wind directions can tear the storm apart.
The combination of very little wind shear and warm ocean temperatures allowed Maria to strengthen the way it did, and it is forecasted to stay a major hurricane as it continues to barrel towards Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands over the next several hours.
