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Forward movement of the actual storm, which is where the eye is, is what is measured. The winds spin around the center having nothing to do with how fast the storm is moving - that is because of steering currents, like a Bermuda High or an approaching cold front.

Oddly enough, if a category 3 hurricane is moving at 60 miles per hour like the 1938 Long Island Express, you combine forward movement with the sustained winds in the direction it is moving to give you, specifically at that part of the storm, category 5 winds. 120 mph sustained plus 60 mph forward movement equals...180 mph sustained winds in that region/area of the storm (it's opposite on the weak side of the storm, of course). Which explains why that hurricane was so destructive.

Last I checked hurricanes don't carry luggage so why people continue to say "pack winds" I'll never understand.

Skip Stone

New Orleans, LA

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15y ago
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3mo ago

Hurricanes move at an average speed of 15 mph due to a combination of factors including the steering flow of the surrounding atmosphere and the interactions between the storm itself and the environment it moves through. The intense winds within the hurricane do not represent the storm's overall motion, which is influenced by larger-scale atmospheric patterns.

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Q: If Hurricanes pack winds of 150 mph how come they only travel at 15 mph?
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