I was struck by the dramatic procession of the eye as the hurricane
approached the Yucatan. It was also a very small diameter and I
wondered if that is normal for a large hurricane?

Is there any significance to this or is it just incidental?

Yes it can be, Charlie was the same way last year. Small eye and powerful.
Any significance, well the winds are tighter wrapped around the eye wall. So
you go from little bit gust. To all of a sudden house ripping winds that
will, wipe you off your feet. This happens in a matter of minutes...

In article , "G"
wrote:

Yes it can be, Charlie was the same way last year. Small eye and powerful.
Any significance, well the winds are tighter wrapped around the eye wall. So
you go from little bit gust. To all of a sudden house ripping winds that
will, wipe you off your feet. This happens in a matter of minutes...

Apparently Typhoon "eyes" are even tighter at their peak. I imagine the
proper statistics and measurements are out there for nmi diameter of eye.

Pinhole hurricanes and typhoons always seem to wobble around in
ribbon-like circles in weak steering currents. Reforming themselves
accordingly to water surface upwellings and coriolis force.

Guam measured highest wind speed before breaking: 300km/hr windspeed.


GKD

300 (kilometers per hour) = 186.411358 mph
Mt. Washington is still the fastest wind speed record (231mph or 372
kilometers per hour).

Wednesday, April 12, 1934
"There was no doubt this morning that a super-hurricane, Mt. Washington
style, was in full development." -- Log Book entry, Sal Pagliuca

Although challenged by 1997's Typhoon Paka in Guam, Mount Washington's
record still stands to this day.
http://www.mountwashington.org/bigwind/#

Some more record facts for you...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051020/...owest_pressure

Wilma's top sustained winds were measured early Wednesday at 175 mph, the
same as Rita and Katrina when they were at sea and 105 mph faster than the
wind speed measured 24 hours before when it was a tropical storm. That wind
speed increase is the fastest ever recorded, hurricane meteorologist Hugh
Cobb said.

Wilma dropped from 982 millibars to 882 millibars in 24 hours, or a rate of
4.2 millibars an hour. Gilbert dropped at 3 millibars an hour over 24 hours.
Wilma also fell 9.7 millibars an hour over six hours early Wednesday,
beating Hurricane Beulah's drop of 6.3 millibars an hour in six hours in
1967.

The lowest pressure ever recorded in a tropical cyclone was 870 millibars in
Typhoon Tip in the northwest Pacific Ocean in 1979.

In article , "G"
wrote:

300 (kilometers per hour) = 186.411358 mph
Mt. Washington is still the fastest wind speed record (231mph or 372
kilometers per hour).

Makes me wonder if there ever was an attempt to record winter jet-stream
winds at the top of Mt. Everest.

GKD

"G" wrote in message ...
300 (kilometers per hour) = 186.411358 mph
Mt. Washington is still the fastest wind speed record (231mph or 372
kilometers per hour).

Wednesday, April 12, 1934
"There was no doubt this morning that a super-hurricane, Mt. Washington
style, was in full development." -- Log Book entry, Sal Pagliuca

Although challenged by 1997's Typhoon Paka in Guam, Mount Washington's
record still stands to this day.




Sorry, hurricane Andrew still holds the record at 145 mph wind
.....full of bricks, boards and trees! Density matters.






http://www.mountwashington.org/bigwind/#