The remnants of the Pacific’s Hurricane Agatha look poised to redevelop in the Caribbean on this first day of the Atlantic Hurricane season and I’ve been getting emails like this:
Hi Frank,
Long time viewer of yours. Are you overly concerned about the coverage that the Loop Current is receiving? People are comparing to 2005.
Pat
In a word, yes. If you’ve ever heard my hurricane speech, I always explain the Loop Current which is a warm flow of water beginning at the equator, traveling through the Caribbean into the Gulf and eventually looping through the Florida Straits to fuel the Gulf Stream along the eastern seaboard. Got that? Here’s an example and notice the highlighted arrows:
Why is this so important? Because hurricanes are fueled by warm water: the warmer the water, the stronger the storm. The magic number for that warm water is 80° or higher and in 2005 that water reached an astronomical 90°! That year we had 7 major hurricanes and four of them went to Category 5: Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. They all went over some portion of the sizzling loop current:
What did the Loop Current look like on this day, June 1, 2005? You can see the sea surface temperatures already at 84-86° and it only got warmer from there:
The comparison now to then is getting a lot of attention for good reason. Here is what the Loop Current looks like as of yesterday in the Gulf of Mexico:
Specifically, that loop current is already 84° (29° Celsius):
Does this mean we will have another 2005? No, of course not. However, the fact that the water is plenty warm certainly does not bode well for the season ahead. And here is my take away for you: when storms form this year it is all about location, location, location! If the path of the storm is forecasted to move it across the warm loop current, look for that storm to intensify rapidly. And, by the way, exactly where the Loop Current is in the Gulf can also change (it loops around, after all), so it’s important to watch where the warmest waters are during the season!
Here’s a great article on this whole situation from msn.
Don’t forget tonight is our Hurricane Special on KPRC 2 from 7pm to 8pm. We have all kinds of information and advice along with a few trivia questions to test your own Hurricane Knowledge! One of which, I did not even know!! See you on TV!
Frank
Email me and follow me on Facebook!
Continue reading...
Hi Frank,
Long time viewer of yours. Are you overly concerned about the coverage that the Loop Current is receiving? People are comparing to 2005.
Pat
In a word, yes. If you’ve ever heard my hurricane speech, I always explain the Loop Current which is a warm flow of water beginning at the equator, traveling through the Caribbean into the Gulf and eventually looping through the Florida Straits to fuel the Gulf Stream along the eastern seaboard. Got that? Here’s an example and notice the highlighted arrows:
Why is this so important? Because hurricanes are fueled by warm water: the warmer the water, the stronger the storm. The magic number for that warm water is 80° or higher and in 2005 that water reached an astronomical 90°! That year we had 7 major hurricanes and four of them went to Category 5: Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. They all went over some portion of the sizzling loop current:
What did the Loop Current look like on this day, June 1, 2005? You can see the sea surface temperatures already at 84-86° and it only got warmer from there:
What about today?
The comparison now to then is getting a lot of attention for good reason. Here is what the Loop Current looks like as of yesterday in the Gulf of Mexico:
Specifically, that loop current is already 84° (29° Celsius):
Does this mean we will have another 2005? No, of course not. However, the fact that the water is plenty warm certainly does not bode well for the season ahead. And here is my take away for you: when storms form this year it is all about location, location, location! If the path of the storm is forecasted to move it across the warm loop current, look for that storm to intensify rapidly. And, by the way, exactly where the Loop Current is in the Gulf can also change (it loops around, after all), so it’s important to watch where the warmest waters are during the season!
Here’s a great article on this whole situation from msn.
Don’t forget tonight is our Hurricane Special on KPRC 2 from 7pm to 8pm. We have all kinds of information and advice along with a few trivia questions to test your own Hurricane Knowledge! One of which, I did not even know!! See you on TV!
Frank
Email me and follow me on Facebook!
Continue reading...