During the nine-year period 1995-2003, there have been 32 “intense hurricanes” in the Atlantic / Caribbean / Gulf of Mexico. A distinct upturn in the frequency of intense hurricanes has occurred since 1995, with an annual average of 3.6 intense hurricanes, compared with the long-term (1950-2000) average of 2.3.

Characteristics of this set of Atlantic hurricanes are analyzed using “Best Track,” aircraft, and satellite data. The presentation will include scatter plots and statistics of parameters in various categories of intensity, intensification rate, size, radius of maximum wind, IR satellite temperatures, and landfall intensities. A complete set of enhanced IR images at maximum intensity, that are all storm centered with the same projections, provides considerable insight as to the range of hurricane sizes and structures. One of the goals of this research is to document the capabilities of objective IR satellite estimates and measurements in diagnosing tropical cyclone intensity and structure, as well as intensification rates and their timing.

Deviations from well known pressure-wind relationships have been quantified. The minimum sea-level pressures have been normalized by the environmental pressure (average over 8 degrees latitude radius), to give a “delta-p” for each hurricane’s maximum intensity. The pressure-wind relationships provide additional key information on the hurricane intensity that is unique to the Atlantic basin due to availability of aircraft observations.