The ferocious cyclone remains far away from where it could directly strike land. This has allowed weather enthusiasts and even casual observers to marvel at the intrinsic beauty of one of the most powerful natural forces on Earth.
By Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep. 28, 2021 1:05 PM EDT | Updated Sep. 30, 2021 1:42 PM EDT
Over the course of its lengthy lifetime, Hurricane Sam has generated some spectacular satellite imagery. From rapid intensification to eyewall replacement cycles, global satellites and hurricane hunter planes have provided a window into the lifecycle of a massive tropical cyclone that's thousands of miles away at sea -- one of Mother Nature's most powerful forces.
Early on the morning of Sept. 30, the Air Force Hurricane Hunters flew into Hurricane Sam in the dark. As well as the normal weather and radar data they collected, they were able to snap a never-before-seen photo of stars from inside the hurricane's eye.
Sam first earned its name back on Sept. 23, when it became a tropical storm. Not long after hitting that benchmark, Sam exploded in strength, undergoing what meteorologists call "rapid intensification," an increase in a storm's maximum sustained winds of 35 mph or more in 24 hours. Less than 24 hours after earning its name, Sam was already a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Sam quickly climbed in intensity this past weekend and ultimately peaked as a dangerously strong Category 4 hurricane on Sunday with maximum sustained winds of around 150 mph. Sam fell just short of becoming the first storm this season to achieve Category 5 hurricane status. A Category 5 hurricane has sustained winds of 157 mph or more.
Hurricane Sam's eye spins on the afternoon of Sept. 30, 2021 (NOAA/CIRA)
By the end of the weekend, satellite imagery had visually confirmed Sam's strength as the hurricane had formed a clearly defined eye. The "eye of the storm" is the terminology meteorologists use to define the area of lowest pressure in a given tropical cyclone. The border of this eye is called the eyewall and is often where the most tumultuous conditions occur.
Over the course of its lifetime, a strong hurricane will go through a phenomenon known as an eyewall replacement cycle. This process will occur essentially as a means to stabilize the core of a hurricane.
In the process, an eyewall replacement cycle will often cause the storm to lose some wind intensity and even be downgraded to a lower category. This is exactly what occurred with Hurricane Sam early this week. During the course of its eyewall replacement cycle, Sam remained a powerful storm but dipped slightly to Category 3 status on Monday.
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Once the new eyewall was in place, Sam strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane once again on Tuesday. AccuWeather forecasters say it isn't completely out of the question that Sam could strengthen enough to make a run at a Category 5 hurricane designation. Sam is forecast to maintain Major hurricane status of Category 3 or greater into this weekend.
Aside from being a picturesque storm, Sam's lengthy journey over the ocean continues to contribute to the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of both the Atlantic basin and the Northern Hemisphere at large.
As of Sept. 30, the total ACE for the Atlantic basin was up to 115.4, according to Colorado State University. The storm that has generated the most ACE so far this season was the long-lived Hurricane Larry. Given the track and intensity forecast for Sam, forecasters say the hurricane has the potential to surpass Larry for the top spot as soon as Oct. 1.
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