Researchers at Florida State University (FSU) have developed a new metric to measure seasonal Atlantic tropical cyclone activity that focuses on the size of storms in addition to the duration and intensity, a measure that may prove important when considering a hurricane's potential for death and destruction.

Just ask the survivors of Superstorm Sandy. The 2012 hurricane registered as Category 2 on the often-referenced Saffir-Simpson scale when it became the largest hurricane on record and the deadliest and most destructive of the season. Killing 285 people in its path in seven different countries, Sandy became the second costliest in U.S. history. Likewise, Hurricane Katrina was a weaker storm than 1969's Camille but nevertheless caused much more destruction even though the two hurricanes followed essentially the same path.

The new metric, called Track Integrated Kinetic Energy (TIKE), builds on the concept of Integrated Kinetic Energy (IKE) developed in 2007 to more accurately measure the destructive potential of a storm. IKE involves using kinetic energy scales with the surface stress that forces storm surge and waves and the horizontal wind loads specified by the American Society of Civil Engineers. TIKE expands the concept by accumulating IKE over the lifespan of a tropical cyclone and over all named tropical cyclones in the hurricane season.