[beyond the sea]

Oh. I had that all wrong about eyewall replacement. Thanks.

I don't think you were wrong, but I'm no expert on this....

***

eyewall replacement is what made katrina go from a category 2 to a category 5 almost overnight 2 days ago.

701 posted on 08/29/2005 8:40:12 AM EDT by mrobison

[Strategerist]

There's an immense amount of mythology about eyewall replacements out there, the source of which I've never been able to determine.

Anyway, I assure you I'm right about this one.

[milkncookies]

An eyewall replacement cycle occurs when the outer eyewall weakens the inner eyewall by robbing it of "needed moisture and momentum," he writes in the National Hurricane Center's Frequently Asked Questions about hurricanes guide. Without these necessary ingredients to grow, the inner eyewall will collapse. The outer eyewall then becomes the dominant eyewall, even though it's larger, and the replacement cycle is nearly complete.

The final phase of the cycle is for the new, larger eyewall to begin to contract. As this happens, any weakening that had occurred when the inner eyewall was replaced is almost always regained as the new eyewall contracts.