Better Handle on Hurricane Power

Scientists have figured out a way to detect lightning inside a hurricane from thousands of miles away, which can give them a leg up in predicting an oncoming storm's strength.

Using data from a network of new ground-based lightning sensors, NASA researchers are looking into how eyewall lightning outbreaks affected the strength of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A hurricane’s eyewall is the inner-heat region that surrounds the “eye” of the storm. The eyewall is where the most intense rainfall and powerful winds occur. By monitoring this area, scientists can better pinpoint when a storm will unleash the most damage.

"There are very few observing systems that offer a broad view of a storm over the open ocean where hurricanes tend to build or lose strength," said researcher Kirt Squires, of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. "We can see thunderstorm activity over the ocean from thousands of miles away for the first time. This development is essential to improving the way meteorologists can look at a growing storm to judge just how harsh it will be."

Results of the study will be detailed in the American Meteorological Society's Monthly Weather Review later this year.

—LiveScience Staff

• Hurricane Katrina Image Gallery
• Image Gallery: Hurricanes at Eye Level
• 2007 Hurricane Guide