at 3:15 PM by Pierce Larkin

The Week in Tropical Weather

I have come to the conclusion that I post way too much about the tropics. I am no expert in tropical meteorology, I wouldn’t even call myself an amateur. Tropical Meteorology is a much different animal than mid-latitude meteorology, and as such, it is difficult for me to apply my knowledge of mid-latitude meteorology to tropical meteorology. However, in light of that, I will be establishing a weekly post about the Tropics. Whether is be the eastern Pacific or the Atlantic or the western Pacific, the Tropics are fairly active around this time of the year. So, without further ado, I give you the first installment of: The Week in Tropical Weather.

The tropics were on fire last week. At one time, there were 5 tropical cyclones ongoing within either the central/eastern Pacific, or the northern Atlantic. Four of those were Hurricanes at one point, with three of them becoming major hurricanes at one point in their lifespan.

This makes sense, as we have now entered the peak hurricane season, and still have a lot left to go within the season itself. This time of year is when water temperatures rise to be their warmest. Water temps will drop from here on out, as solar radiation decreases with decreasing daylight and sun angle.

The hurricane peak season chart. h/t NHC
The hurricane peak season chart. h/t NHC

Close to home, Hermine was the big story, and was one of the bigger stories in the meteorological world in quite some time. The last time that wrote this, Hermine was still a tropical depression over the southern Gulf of Mexico, and was gradually organizing and gaining strength. Well, she intensified quickly.

Hermaine went from a fairly disorganized system to an organizing and intense, landfalling Hurricane within a matter of a day. She broke all kinds of streaks. Before Hermine, the US hadn’t see a Hurricane Landfall since Arthur in 2014, which had been 791 days. In addition to that, Florida hadn’t seen a Hurricane landfall in 3966 days.

Those numbers are astonishing, and speak to the sort of Hurricane drought that had been ongoing within the Atlantic over the past few years. Hermine actually was fairly incredible, as it moved up the southeastern US coast, maintaining tropical characteristics and intensity, and then it transitioned to a post-tropical storm.

Hermine is still sitting and spinning over the Atlantic, battering the coastline of the Northeast with high waves, winds and surf.

Post-Tropical storm hermine is a ghost of her former self. h/t NHC
Post-Tropical storm hermine is a ghost of her former self. h/t NHC

She is expected to weaken over the next few days as she fills in as a low pressure, and moves to the northeast across open waters.