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ACE
Definition:
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) is a number where you can look to the strength of a
season or hurricane/tropical storm system. With these numbers you can also look to the
activity of a hurricane season. The ACE number is only in use with the hurricane season of
the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
As we concluded and give a short explanation about the ACE in one line, we can say: How
higher the ACE number is in one season, how stronger the season was. Moreover, how higher
the ACE number is with a storm system (hurricane or tropical storm) how stronger the system
was!
Formula:
ACE= (knots) ^2 / 10.000
Every 6 hours the NHC (National Hurricane Center) gives data about the wind speed in knots
of a hurricane or tropical storm how is active on the same time. If you calculate every ACE
number of every 6 hours and count these numbers together, from the moment that a storm
system reaches more than 34 knots till the moment he gets under that number, you have the
total ACE number of one system. If you count all the ACE numbers from a season, you get
the total ACE number which is very useful to look to the activity of a hurricane season.
Categories:
You can put the ACE number is different categories. These categories only counts when you
look to the total activity of one season! In the next table we are going to look to these
categories and after that I will explain something more about these categories.
Also if a category is giving to a season, the scientist also looks to the number of storm system
that was produced in one season. So a season with an ACE number of 93 can be categorized
as a below normal season, because the season didn’t produced many hurricanes or tropical
storm. It can be that there was one hurricane with a very high ACE number, as hurricane Ivan
(2004). Ivan had an ACE number of 70! That can be the total number of one normal season.
The season of 2004 was a hyperactive season with 14 tropical storms, 9 hurricanes and 6
major hurricanes.
Exceptions:
Normally every storm system how reach a wind speed of 34 knots gets an ACE number. But
there are some exceptions. A subtropical storm system doesn’t get an ACE number. But as we
look for example to subtropical storm Laura (season 2008). Laura got an ACE number, but
what happened. Laura first was a tropical storm. So the only used the numbers of the time
while she was active as a tropical storm.
Example:
On this page I will gave an example how the scientist calculate the ACE of one hurricane. I
used hurricane Ike. Ike was the strongest hurricane of the season 2008 and moreover, Ike had
the highest ACE number.
If you look to the Wikipedia page with the ACE data of the hurricanes and tropical storms,
you can see that the wound up the number to 39. But you can explain that with the numbers of
the wind speed. The number of the ACE that the NHC gave is a number with more specific
wind speed data. Our numbers are wound up to speed with a difference of 5 knots. That is
why our ACE number is higher than that the National Hurricane Center gave.
Sources:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/122706main_hurricane_emily1.jpg
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Sep2008/ike_tmo_2008256_lrg.jpg
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ms-word/TCR-AL092008_Ike.doc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Season_2008