{
  "id": 5130894,
  "title": "Weak sea-surface temperature gradients may fuel stronger tropical cyclones",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/weak-sea-surface-temperature-gradients-may-fuel-stronger-tropical",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-02T17:10:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-weak-sea-surface-temperature-gradients.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sea-surface temperature variations on a small scale can play a significant role in the intensity of tropical cyclones, according to a new study. These gradients, which exist over short distances of 1 kilometer to tens of kilometers, affect how much cooling occurs in the ocean surface before a storm arrives. Cyclones crossing areas with weak gradients tend to cause less cooling and become about 40% stronger than those crossing areas with strong gradients. Rapidly intensifying cyclones, which are particularly challenging to forecast, are associated with below-average gradients in about 60% of cases, and this proportion increases with cyclone intensity, reaching nearly 70% for Category 4 storms. The findings suggest that improvements in predicting and warning about these storms could greatly benefit coastal communities, as tropical cyclones cause over 10,000 deaths and $26 billion in economic damage globally each year. The study also highlights the need for better understanding and modeling of small-scale processes that drive ocean mixing and storm intensification.",
  "summary": "The fact that the ocean gets colder as you go deeper is fairly intuitive, but a similar gradient exists along the surface of the ocean, even at scales of 1 kilometer to tens of kilometers. A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that this horizontal gradient significantly contributes to the intensity of tropical cyclones, providing a potential tool…",
  "key_points": [
    "Small-scale sea-surface temperature gradients influence tropical cyclone intensity.",
    "Weak gradients cause cyclones to be 40% stronger than strong gradient areas.",
    "60% of rapidly intensifying cyclones have below-average gradients."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}