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The anemometer broke in the eyewall of the hurricane when the wind speeds reached 155 mph. After the eyewall passed over the weather station, the pressure dropped to its lowest value of 919.6 mb. At that point, there was no pressure gradient. What do you think happened to the wind speed at this point? Briefly explain why.

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Answer:

There is a large difference in pressure between the point of the wall and the eye of the hurricane, possibly it is outside the measuring range of the anemometer, creating the fracture that breaks it

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's use Bernoulli's equation to describe the passage of the hurricane, write in two points the eye of the hurricane and the point the wall (periphery) of the hurricane

P₁ + ½ ρ v₁² + ρ g y₁ = P₂ + ½ ρ v₂² + ρ g y₂

Where P₁ = 919.6 mb is the eye pressure of the hurricane, at this point the speed is very small, we can assume that it is zero, the height of the anemometer is constant; on the wall the pressure is P₂ and wind speed is v₂ = 155 mph, with this the equation is reduced to

P₁ = P₂ + ½ ρ v₂²

We must reduce the magnitudes to the SI system

P₁ = 919.6 mb (100 Pa / mb) = 9,196 104 Pa

v₂ = 155 mph (1609 m / 1 mile) (1h / 3600s) = 62,276 m / s

The approximate density of air with water in a storm is close to the density of water 1000 kg / m³

With these values ​​we can find the approximate pressure in the eye of the hurricane

P₂ = 9,196 104 - ½ 1000 62,276 2

P₂ = 9.196 104 - 193.9 104

P₂ = 184.7 104 Pa

There is a large difference in pressure between the point of the wall and the eye of the hurricane, possibly it is outside the measuring range of the anemometer, creating the fracture that breaks it

User Raktotpal Bordoloi
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