How warm must ocean water temperatures be to produce a Category 5 hurricane?
Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are only one factor in hurricane development, so there is no set temperature by which ocean waters must be to produce a Category 5 storm. Steve Lyons, tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, blogged about how SSTs are not all that important in hurricane development. One interesting point he makes is that nearly the entire tropical Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico are warm enough to produce a Category 5 hurricane during the peak months of the tropical season-August, September, and the first half of October. In addition, the intensification of hurricanes depends not only on SSTs, but on temperatures up in the atmosphere as well. Air can heat up much more quickly than water, and a slight increase in air temperature, just like warmer water, can help strengthen a hurricane. Finally, wind shear–changes in the atmosphere’s winds with height–can affect a hurricane’s development. Less wind shear allows for more rising air, which is favorable
