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Which Planet Has the Most Extreme Weather?

AstronomyPlanetary Science

Quick Answer

Jupiter has arguably the most extreme weather in the solar system: its Great Red Spot is a storm larger than Earth that has raged for at least 350 years, with wind speeds exceeding 640 km/h.

The Full Story

Jupiter atmospheric dynamics are extraordinary. The Great Red Spot (GRS), first observed in the 1600s, is an anticyclonic storm roughly 1.3 times the diameter of Earth with internal wind speeds exceeding 640 km/h. Jupiter is striped with alternating bands of rising and sinking gas moving at different speeds, creating jet streams and thousands of smaller storms. Lightning bolts on Jupiter are thousands of times more powerful than Earth. But other planets compete for "most extreme": Neptune has the solar system fastest sustained winds (2,100 km/h), Venus has a surface hot enough to melt lead (465 degrees Celsius), and on Saturn moon Titan, it rains liquid methane. HD 189733b, a "hot Jupiter" exoplanet, may have 8,700 km/h winds carrying glass particles sideways — rain of molten glass at supersonic speeds.

Key Facts

1.Jupiter Great Red Spot has been continuously observed for at least 350 years and is large enough to contain 1.3 Earths.
2.Jupiter lightning is up to 10 times more powerful than Earth lightning, and Juno spacecraft has observed lightning in Jupiter polar regions.
3.On Saturn hexagonal north polar vortex is a persistent jet stream in the shape of a nearly perfect hexagon, about 32,000 km across — with no satisfactory explanation yet.

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The Most Extreme Weather in the Solar System"