Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins Slowly
- Details
- Category: Earth, Air, Space Science
- Published on Friday, 19 August 2022 14:55
- Written by Janet Walker
The 2022 Hurricane Season is off to a slow start, even as meteorologists predict at least 16 named storms with three to five major Category 3, or higher storms, likely to make landfall sometime between September and October.
“All told, the Atlantic Ocean has been surprisingly quiet. No hurricane has formed in the Atlantic basin so far this year — an impressive 317-day drought. This year has now entered into the top 10 years with the longest dearth of hurricanes in the satellite record,” reported The Washington Post.
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The Atlantic Hurricane season begins June 1, and runs through November 30, with the increased chance of tropical storm development from August 15 through September 15 which coincides with the highest ocean water temperature.
Storm development begins off the North African coastline and is fueled by the strong Sahara winds. Weather modules predict favorable activity for storm development and organization within this basin will increase over the coming weeks and expect to see more robust tropical depression activity.
Comparatively, last year, 2021 during this peak storm season of August 14 through September 15, eight named storms developed in the Atlantic basin including a Hurricane Grace, a Category 3 storm and Hurricane Ida, a Category 4.
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As hurricane season peaks, over the next month, meteorologists predict the entire eastern seaboard is at risk, which is usually the case, and the warmer the ocean temperatures which are brought on by global warming, the increased risk for catastrophic storm development and landfall.
Meteorologists unpack the elements which have contributed to the relatively calm hurricane season by explaining the extreme heat in the high atmosphere wind shear from the tropical Atlantic along with dry dusty air which originates in the Sahara Desert destroys the opportunity for storms to organize.
While the Atlantic Basin looks impressively clear, the Gulf of Mexico is experiencing a tropical depression with wind speed of 35mph moving NW at 14mph. It is too early to determine if this storm will develop into hazardous conditions for the United States coastline, although a tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of northeastern Mexico and South Texas. This tropical depression has an 80% chance of developing into a Tropical Storm 4, with sustained winds between 35-63mph with a three-foot storm surge.
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As with any storm, especially when the ocean temperatures are at their peak, which while not quite at the summer’s hottest temperatures, the water in the Gulf of Mexico could aid the tropical storm, which could remain stationary at develop into a hurricane.
With this lull in the Atlantic storm season, it is a good time to restock the emergency supplies, ensure that an ample supple of batteries are on hand, flashlights, transistor radios, water, solar chargers, medicines, household needs, pet supplies, make sure gas tanks are full and remember ATM’s run on electricity and if there is an outage, banking convenience will be unavailable.
