HONOLULU (KHON2) — As Milton continues across Florida’s peninsula, KHON2 wanted to know how Hawaii’s hurricanes differ from those that originate in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.
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KHON2 spoke to experts as well as former Hawaii residents that are feeling Milton’s first impacts.
An associate professor of atmospheric pressure at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said the main difference between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean is surface temperatures.
“They provide the energy that gets a storm going. So if you have warm sea surface temperatures, they can provide a lot of moisture into the atmosphere that then condenses and forms latent heat,” said Alison Nugent. “And so here in Hawaii, we don’t have as warm waters as they have in the Gulf.”
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The second major factor that differs between the two regions is wind shear, a factor that contributes to a diminished storm.