Here's how Hurricane Helene turned into a major storm

Hurricane Helene is here. Within two days of forming in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday, it strengthened from a tropical storm into a Category 4 hurricane. In doing so, it solidified its place as the largest and most intense storm to hit Florida's capital.

That process — the swift increase in wind speed by about 35 knots over a 24-hour period — is called rapid intensification.

And Hurricane Helene is not a complete anomaly.

Large, powerful storms are more likely when the system forms over hotter ocean water, and climate change is causing ocean temperatures to rise. The combined effects of higher sea levels and heavier rainfall means that storm-related flooding is intensifying, too.

To break it all down, Short Wave host Regina G. Barber is joined by Jill Trepanier, a hurricane climatologist and professor of geography at Louisiana State University. They talk about the ingredients necessary for rapid intensification, the connection between warm oceans and heavy rain, and the impact of a changing climate on future storms. Plus, why even inland areas should be preparing for the impact of Helene.

Follow local updates on Hurricane Helene.

Want to know more about the scientific underpinning of serious weather events? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Rebecca, Rachel Carlson and Tyler Jones. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.