The Washington Post

Prof. Emeritus Kerry Emanuel speaks with Washington Post reporters Ben Noll and Ruby Mellen about the 2025 hurricane season. “The thing that really powers the hurricane is how fast you can transfer heat from the ocean to the atmosphere. The bigger the temperature difference, the faster you can transfer heat. The faster you can transfer heat, the more powerful the hurricane can be,” says Emanuel. “This past summer, the sea surface temperatures across much of the tropical Atlantic were warmer than normal, which is part of what led people to predict that there would be a very busy season.”