Category Archives: Tropical

How is the 2022 hurricane season going?

The hurricane season is a distinct time of year when tropical cyclones — tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes — usually develop.

Here in the U.S., we usually refer to the Atlantic hurricane season, as it’s those storms that most commonly affect the U.S., which extends from June 1 to Nov. 30. Continue reading

Category: Seasons, Tropical

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Another example of unprecedented weather extremes

Another entry in the category of unprecedented weather extremes comes from the tropical Atlantic basin where, last week, Hurricane Fiona wrought devastation to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, still reeling from its assault by Hurricane Maria eerily precisely five years earlier.

Fiona dropped upwards of 30 inches of rain on the south shores of Puerto Rico before heading north into the Atlantic, where it systematically strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of more than 130 mph. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather, Tropical

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How is this year’s Atlantic hurricane season measuring up?

The Atlantic hurricane season is now more than two months old and has so far been fairly quiet with only three storms — all of them in the weakest category of tropical depression. This may well have been the case in the summer and fall of 1492 as well.

It is interesting to note that among the seemingly endless list of superstitions and fantastical falsehoods that surrounded voyages of exploration in the age of discovery — ranging from sea serpents of all kinds to boiling waters near the equator — there was no mention of hurricanes. This is obviously because no European had yet witnessed (and could not imagine) the frothing seas, with towering 100 foot waves, that these ferocious storms can create. Continue reading

Category: Seasons, Tropical

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What does the hurricane season look like?

The official Atlantic basin hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with an average of 10 to 15 storms each year.

The peak of activity in the Atlantic basic runs from mid-August to mid-October. During that subset of the entire season, more than 70% of all storms in the last 100 years have occurred. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Severe Weather, Tropical

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Why do tornadoes happen in hurricanes?

When hurricanes make landfall, they can spawn tornadoes.

The friction over land is much stronger than friction over water, where the hurricanes form. Frictional force quickly weakens the farther you get from the ground. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather, Tropical

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