Weather

Talking the Tropics With Mike: Atlantic low pressure moving over cooler water

Jacksonville, Fl. — The “Buresh Bottom Line”: Always be prepared!.....First Alert Hurricane Survival Guide... City of Jacksonville Preparedness Guide... Georgia Hurricane Guide.

STAY INFORMED: Get the * FREE * First Alert Weather app

FREE NEWS UPDATES, ALERTS: Action News Jax app for Apple | For Android

WATCH “The Ins & Outs of Hurricane Season

WATCH “Preparing for the Storm

READ the First Alert Hurricane Center “Survival Guide

***** ALWAYS CHECK & RE-CHECK THE LATEST FORECAST & UPDATES! *****

REMEMBER WHEN A TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE IS APPROACHING: Taping windows is *NOT* helpful & will not keep glass from breaking... & realize the forecast cone is the average forecast error over a given time - out to 5 days - & *does not* indicate the width of the storm &/or damage that might occur.

For the first time since at least 1950, the globe - not just the Atlantic Basin! - had no ‘major’ - Cat. 3 or stronger - hurricanes or typhoons from Sept. 26 through Nov. 10th (Phil Klotzbach).

The last name on this season’s Atlantic list has now been used. A combination of a bunch of short term storms this year (8 were “alive” for less than 48 hours) + better detection methods (satellite & radar) + less conventional (quick to pull the trigger, in other words) manner in which NHC now names storms has led to the 3rd year (2005 & 2020) in which all names have been used up. Wanda was a “fish storm” in the truest sense ..... as in “A Fish Called Wanda” (??). The last advisory was issued Sunday.

Low pressure (the late week/weekend Fl. No’easter) is moving over the Eastern Atlantic. The low still has a short window to become subtropical before moving over cool sea surface temps. & becoming absorbed by a large extra-tropical low over the far N. Atlantic.

Otherwise.... it seems an autumn upper level weather pattern is becoming well established across the N. Hemisphere & Atlantic Basin. The result may be that the Atlantic tropical season is essentially over. If there is any new tropical development, systems will likely be more out to sea over the broad Atlantic with a tendency to move east & northeast away from the U.S. One area to watch will be the Caribbean but even there, any developing system will most likely move east &/or northeast - & nothing indicated at the moment.


Saharan dust. Dry air - yellow/orange/red/pink. Widespread dust is indicative of dry air that can impede the development of tropical cyclones. However, sometimes “wanna’ be” waves will just wait until they get to the other side of the plume then try to develop if everything else happens to be favorable. In my personal opinion, way too much is made about the presence of Saharan dust & how it relates to tropical cyclones.

2021 names..... “Wanda” was the last name on the Atlantic list (names are picked at random by the World Meteorological Organization... repeat every 6 years... historic storms are retired [Florence & Michael in ’18... Dorian in ’19 & Laura, Eta & Iota in ‘20]). “Adria” is next. Last year - 2020 - had a record 30 named storms. The WMO decided - beginning this year - that the Greek alphabet will be no longer used & instead there will be a supplemental list of names if the first list is exhausted (has only happened three times - 2005 & 2020 & 2021). The naming of tropical cyclones began on a consistent basis in 1953. More on the history of naming tropical cyclones * here *.

East Atlantic:

Mid & upper level wind shear (enemy of tropical cyclones) analysis (CIMMS). The red lines indicate strong shear:

Water vapor imagery (dark blue indicates dry air):

Deep oceanic heat content over the Gulf, Caribbean & deep tropical Atlantic & remains pretty impressive late in the season from the Central/NW Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico:

Sea surface temp. anomalies:

SE U.S. surface map:

Surface analysis centered on the tropical Atlantic:

Surface analysis of the Gulf:

Caribbean:

GFS wave forecast at 48 & 72 hours (2 & 3 days):

Atlantic Basin wave period forecast for 24, 48 & 72 hours respectively:

The East Pacific:

West Pacific IR satellite:

Global tropical activity: