From NASA
In 2017, we have seen four Atlantic storms rapidly intensify with three of those storms – Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria – making landfall. When hurricanes intensify a large amount in a short period, scientists call this process rapid intensification. This is the hardest aspect of a storm to forecast and it can be most critical to people’s lives. While any hurricane can threaten lives and cause damage with storm surges, floods, and extreme winds, a rapidly intensifying hurricane can greatly increase these risks while giving populations limited time to prepare and evacuate. The NASA video below has more on rapid intensification:
Rapidly intensifying storms typically occur up to twice in a hurricane season. But in 2017, we have seen four storms rapidly intensify and scientists attribute this to warmer ocean waters and favorable winds.
Edited for WeatherNation by Meteorologist Mace Michaels