Hurricane Larry’s unique ring of fury

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some hurricanes come in different shapes and levels of strength. A few may last less than a day or some, like Hurricane Ginger, that whirled in the Atlantic northeast of the Bahamas in 1971.

Hurricane Larry is one of very few hurricanes that evolve into a rare breed of tropical cyclones that take on a symmetrical circular shape called annular hurricanes.

It takes a specific set of environmental conditions found only 0.8% of the time in the Atlantic to shape these perfectly shaped signatures. But when the conditions come together it forms a circle of unbreakable deadly winds at the center of a balanced hurricane.

Annular hurricanes are shaped in a perfect circle with an unusually wide hole in the center called an eye: the hallmark satellite appearance could easily pass off as a truck tire or donut-cane.

These super storms reach their distinction after crossing the mark to major intensities typical of Category 3 or higher strength.

But not only do annular hurricanes represent the strongest hurricanes but they stay stronger than the average intense hurricane because of fewer replacement cycles in the eyewall that cause temporary decreases in winds.

Hurricane Larry, like most annular hurricanes, held its strength with few weakening fluctuations for a longer period compared to others outside its class.

For example, Larry became a major hurricane, reaching 120-125 mph winds don’t Saturday and held those winds in a powerful steady-state through Tuesday.

True to Larry’s look, researchers have found the parts of an annular hurricane are a bit different from the broader class. Larry’s 80-mile wide eye is much larger than average and the rainbands don’t stretch out as far from the storm center and pack fewer thunderstorms. These factors keep Larry an unwavering powerhouse and are all the more troubling if your home is parked in the path.

Furthermore, robust longevity can make forecasting intensity very challenging compared to other intense storms. This is because they don’t have the predictability of cyclical strengthening bursts encountered in eyewall replacement cycles.

Weather enthusiasts admire Larry’s perfect shape knowing that eventually, it will break down in a day as it heads northward over colder water. Even more wonderful is knowing it will never make landfall, a characteristic all too uncommon in recent hurricane seasons.