After a slow start to the Atlantic Hurricane Season, a chain of tropical storms, hurricanes and tropical waves has developed in the past few days. Of course, September is generally the peak month of the annual Hurricane Season (which runs from June to early November) and current atmospheric and oceanic conditions are favoring storm development.
Just yesterday, Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall along the Mississippi Coast and its flooding rains continue to fall near Pensacola and Mobile; in the coming days, that tropical system will inject copious moisture into the Midwest which will interact with a cold front to produce flooding from Arkansas to the Great Lakes. Next in line is Hurricane Florence, currently a Category 3 storm in the Central Atlantic; its future course remains uncertain but it could potentially affect the entire East Coast of the U.S. Behind Florence are three tropical waves, emerging from the West Coast of Africa every few days; since wind shear has currently diminished over the Atlantic and sea temperatures are in the upper 80s (F) off the Southeast Coast, the stage is set for potential landfalling hurricanes.
While the incidence of tropical storms and hurricanes will vary with a host of atmospheric and oceanic patterns, our warming climate will surely add fuel to systems that do develop. Storms in the Eastern Pacific have dominated the headlines in recent months but the Atlantic has now come alive!
Just yesterday, Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall along the Mississippi Coast and its flooding rains continue to fall near Pensacola and Mobile; in the coming days, that tropical system will inject copious moisture into the Midwest which will interact with a cold front to produce flooding from Arkansas to the Great Lakes. Next in line is Hurricane Florence, currently a Category 3 storm in the Central Atlantic; its future course remains uncertain but it could potentially affect the entire East Coast of the U.S. Behind Florence are three tropical waves, emerging from the West Coast of Africa every few days; since wind shear has currently diminished over the Atlantic and sea temperatures are in the upper 80s (F) off the Southeast Coast, the stage is set for potential landfalling hurricanes.
While the incidence of tropical storms and hurricanes will vary with a host of atmospheric and oceanic patterns, our warming climate will surely add fuel to systems that do develop. Storms in the Eastern Pacific have dominated the headlines in recent months but the Atlantic has now come alive!
