What Is A Hypercane?
A hypercane is a theoretical type of storm that, as the name suggests, is essentially a hurricane but immensely more powerful, and formed in much warmer waters than normal. The theory of such a storm was created by Kerry Emanuel, a professor of meteorology at MIT, who also coined the term. The main difference between a hurricane and a hypothetical hypercane is that a hypercane reaches up to the upper stratosphere, instead of just the lower stratosphere. This means that the storm would also damage the ozone layer, increasing the amount of ultraviolet light from the sun reaches Earth. If this happens at scale, it would likely lead to another mass extinction.
It should be noted that a hypercane has never actually been recorded, with no hypercane has been seen anywhere in the world in history. Whether or not a storm has happened in world history, or if it is realistically possible, is up for debate in the scientific community.
How Powerful Is A Hypercane?
A hypercane is estimated to be able to sustain winds of over 800 km/h (500 mph), with gusts hitting 970 km/h (600 mph), which would absolutely break the Saffir Simpson scale. For the record, this level of wind speed would be able to easily lift sharks. For comparison, the highest wind speed recorded in any hurricane was in Hurricane Patricia, which had sustained winds of 345 mph (215 mph). The highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth was found in the Bridge Creek Moore tornado, which had wind speeds of 517 km/h (321 mph). It should be noted that doubling the wind speed makes the wind force four times as powerful, meaning that since this is more than double the strength of Hurricane Patricia, it would be able to damage stuff more than four times as durable as what Patricia did.
It is unknown how large these storms would be, with some estimates saying they would be larger than Typhoon Tip, while others state they would be smaller than any tropical cyclone ever.
How Could A Hypercane Form?
In order for air to rise to the upper stratosphere, the temperature of the water would need to be at least 49 C (120 F). This is much higher than current ocean temperatures, which rarely reach much above 30 C (86 F), even in the tropics. In order for this to happen, there would need to be plenty of heat added from another source.
According to the main proposed theory, an asteroid hitting a large body of water would, in fact, heat up said body of water quite significantly. This would likely be especially true if the asteroid hit a place deep enough for powerful storms like hurricanes to form, but shallow enough for the heating up to be more rampant, with slower cooling. Emanuel even made a bold claim that the Gulf of Mexico would be the perfect place for such an impact, meaning that the asteroid that is estimated to have hit that area 65 million years ago could have caused hypercanes. While the hypercane itself could have killed several dinosaurs in North America, the damage to the ozone layer could have been a major contributor to the extinction of the dinosaurs. It is also proposed that a single hypercane would only deal minimal damage to the ozone, with multiple needed to do the damage described.
Are Hypercanes Really Possible?
While unlikely to happen without outside interference, the theory does stand up to peer-reviewed scientific studies. However, an outside source, such as the asteroid mentioned earlier, could potentially cause one. However, despite all the theory making sense, the lack of a real storm that was seen is enough to keep reasonable doubt in the minds of many skeptics, even in the scientific community.
Could A Hypercane Hit Canada?
While a storm like a hypercane would weaken significantly while going over the United States, a hypercane’s immense starting power would make it likely that it would be able to sustain strong winds long enough to deal significant damage to Canadian cities. Its exact level of power, however, is difficult to determine.
What Might Happen If A Hypercane Really Happens?
It is unknown what might happen if a hypercane actually happens, due to the fact that it has never really happened. However, responses to past disasters can give us a good idea of what might be possible. Here are possible things that could potentially happen in a hypothetical hypercane scenario.
- A media frenzy, with worldwide reports talking about the record-breaking storms.
- The storm would only be studied from a distance. Our current hurricane planes are not able to withstand winds of that magnitude.
- Any transportation going through an area threatened by the hypercane would be redirected to avoid being completely destroyed.
- Mass evacuation from any area, with importance stressed, and the difference between this and an ordinary storm.
- Long-term
