Hypercane

A hypercane is a hypothetical class of extreme tropical cyclone that could form if ocean temperatures reached around Template:Convert/°C —15° higher than the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded— which could in turn be caused by a large asteroid or comet impact, a large volcanic or supervolcanic eruption, or very extensive global warming. There is some speculation that some dinosaurs might have been killed off by a series of hypercanes, resulting from an asteroid or comet crashing into Earth. The term was coined by atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel in 1994, at MIT.

Physical description

Hypercanes would have wind speeds of over Template:Convert/km/h, and would also have a central pressure of less than Template:Convert/hPa, giving them an enormous lifespan. The extreme conditions needed to create such a storm could conceivably produce a system up to the size of North America, creating storm surges of 18 metres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|59|(1−1)|0}} ft) and an eye nearly 300 kilometres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|190|(1−2)|0}} mi) across. The waters could remain hot enough for weeks, allowing more hypercanes to be formed. A hypercane's clouds would reach 30 kilometres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|19|(1−1)|0}} mi) into the stratosphere. A hypercane would also damage the earth's ozone. The reason for this is the water molecules sent up into the ozone layer merge with the ultraviolet light repelling particles and disintegrate the particles, creating a hole in the vicinity. Other scientists have theorized that the system, compared to a normal hurricane, would be considerably smaller, about 10 miles in diameter. This would more comparable to a tornado, which can top out to about a mile and a half in diameter.

References

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