Loop Current

[1] Serving as the dominant circulation feature in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Loop Currents transports between 23 and 27 sverdrups[2] and reaches maximum flow speeds of from 1.5 to 1.8 meters/second.

[4] Swirling at 1.8 to 2 meters/second, these rings drift to the west at speeds of 2 to 5 kilometers/day and have a lifespan of up to a year before they bump into the coast of Texas or Mexico.

Further study over the past few decades, however, has shown that the extension to the north (and the shedding of eddies) does not have a significant annual cycle, but does vacillate in the north-south and east-west directions on an inter-annual basis.

[8] On that day, Hurricane Rita passed over the Loop current and intensified into a Category 5 storm with the help of the warm water.

Furthermore, models suggest that cyclones are more likely to reach a larger fraction of their maximum potential intensity over warm oceanic features where the 26 °C isotherm extends beyond 100 meters.

Camille formed in the deep warm waters of the Caribbean, which enabled it to rapidly intensify into a category 3 hurricane in one day.

It rounded the western tip of Cuba, and its path took it directly over the Loop Current, all the way north towards the coast, during which time the rapid intensification continued.

After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, Opal reentered the Gulf of Mexico and passed over an eddy shed by the Loop Current.

While the majority of this hurricane induced cooling of the mixed layer was attributed to upwelling (due to Ekman divergence), another 2000 to 3000 watts/meter squared were estimated to be lost through heat flux at the air-water interface of the storm's core.

Second, the thermodynamic state of the atmosphere through which the cyclone moves will affect its ability to strengthen, as strong horizontal winds will disperse internal circulation and prevent the vertical stacking of energy within the storm.

The third component affecting hurricane intensity is the heat exchange between the upper layer of ocean waters and the core of the storm.

However, recent studies have revealed that surface temperature is less important in hurricane deepening than the depth of the ocean mixed layer.

[19] Storms passing over the Loop Current or warm core eddies have access to more tepid water, and therefore the higher energy content of the heated molecules.

Once Hurricane Rita left the Loop Current and passed over cooler water, it declined in strength, but the main factor in this weakening was an eyewall replacement cycle (ERC) occurring at that time.