Rapidly intensifying hurricanes are some of the most frightening and destructive types of extreme weather. Predicting them has been notoriously difficult
Hurricanes that rapidly intensify for mysterious reasons pose a particularly frightening threat to those in harm's way. Forecasters have struggled for many years to understand why a seemingly commonplace tropical depression or tropical storm sometimes blows up into a major hurricane, packing catastrophic winds and driving a potentially deadly surge of water toward shore.
<p>Scientists at NCAR have identified two entirely different modes of hurricane rapid intensification. The findings may lead to better understanding and prediction of these dangerous events.</p>
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