“Rapid intensification”: could it happen with Beryl?

HOUSTON (CW 39) — It typically takes several days or even a week for a tropical storm to become a powerful hurricane. But if conditions are right, a major hurricane can develop in just a few hours.

Houstonians may remember what happened with Hurricane Laura in 2020. The process, known as “rapid intensification,” took Laura from a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph to a Category 3 with winds of 115 mph in a matter of hours.

Beryl is expected to grow before landfall, and some forecasters fear it could intensify rapidly, perhaps to the size of a Category 2 storm. Much depends on how long Beryl spends over water.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a storm of this type experiences rapid intensification when its sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph (56 km/h) in 24 hours or less. That’s a jump of about two categories on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which ranks hurricanes from 1 to 5.

Hurricane Michael in 2018 was another major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that rapidly intensified, increasing its speed by 46 mph in 24 hours as it neared landfall on the Florida coast.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, during the historic 2005 season, rapidly intensified before wreaking devastating damage on the Gulf Coast.