Hurricane Heat Potential

Hurricane heat potential, also called tropical cyclone heat potential, is the upper-ocean heat content integrated from the sea surface down to the depth of the 26 degree Celsius isotherm, expressed in kilojoules per square centimeter. It measures the reservoir of warm water available to fuel a tropical cyclone, accounting for depth as well as surface temperature, so a deep warm layer resists the cooling that storm-induced mixing and upwelling would otherwise cause. NOAA/AOML maps it from satellite altimetry and Argo profiles. Values above 50 kJ/cm2 favor intensification; values above 90 kJ/cm2 are linked to rapid intensification over features like the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current.