Superstorm Sandy: A Giant Circulation
Over the past few years, we've witnessed several cases illustrating that the size of a hurricane, not simply its intensity, plays a huge factor in the impact of storm surge, not to mention wind impact
(MORE: Storm Surge...Size Matters)
In one aspect, Superstorm Sandy is dwarfing recent past large hurricanes!
Sandy Versus Irene
The satellite images above compare a large Hurricane Irene from 2011 to Sandy. As you can see, both have extremely large cloud patterns associated with them.
As Sandy was nearing land Monday afternoon, tropical-storm force winds extended up to 485 miles away from the center of circulation.
However, the diameter of tropical storm-force winds spanned 943 miles from southwest to northeast. This is more than the driving distance from New York to Atlanta! This is more representative of a "Nor'easter" than your typical tropical cyclone.
The peak diameter of tropical-storm force winds with Irene was 460 miles. A very large distance, but only half as big as Sandy.
In the end, they are both large hurricanes, however Sandy's tropical-storm force wind field affected a much larger area.
Let's now compare the maximum diameter of tropical storm-force (39-73 mph sustained winds) winds to other past large hurricanes when they were just a few days from U.S. landfall.
Peak Diameter of Tropical Storm Winds
- Isaac (2012): 450 miles
- Ike (2008): 485 miles
- Katrina (2005): 435 miles
- Isabel (2003): 575 miles