Weather

Talking the Tropics With Mike: Well organized tropical wave rolling west across the Atlantic

By Mike Buresh, Action News Jax
By Mike Buresh, Action News Jax

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

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*** All eyes on the strong tropical wave/low pressure - ‘92-L’ moving west across the Central Atlantic - still unclear exactly how this scenario will unfold but some impacts to Fl. are possible over the weekend - stay up to date ***

Tropical waves continue rolling off the coast of Africa. One wave - 92L over the Central Atlantic - in particular has potential to develop as it speeds west/northwest. A buoy near this wave indicates winds near tropical storm strength (39 mph), so it may not be long before we an official upgrade. Hurricane hunter recon will investigate the system Tue. afternoon.

The ultimate track will likely hinge on two things:

(1) the Bermuda high to the north which is broad & strong Bermuda high.

(2) intensity. Weaker - will be more west & south.... stronger - more north earlier. It’s possible that Puerto Rico & Hispaniola may also have a “say” if there’s any land interaction.

Forecast models, of course, have been & continue to be at odds with one another & sometimes at odds with themselves (from one cycle run to the next). It’s way too early to get too caught up in single model runs or to start to panic(!).

The European model has started to trend north & a little stronger bringing a tropical cyclone to near S. Florida over the weekend... the GFS is now relatively similar though a bit east in the long run... & the UKMET is between the two but has trended toward the European with a tropical cyclone in the vicinity of Fl. over the by the weekend.

Overall forecast models recently have generally trended north. Since the wave appears to be organizing/strengthening.... & the Bermuda high is strong, it seems likely the track will be near the Greater Antilles (Leeward Islands) then a move northwest, possibly N/NW. Stronger/earlier development would tend to support a more northward track solution. There is a good deal of shear in the vicinity of the wave now - on the order of 25-30+ mph - so any short term organization will likely be slow. But once farther west, shear relaxes. This in itself may lend to a more westward solution before gaining much latitude. One to watch no doubt!

E. Atlantic tropical wave/disturbance spaghetti plots:


Atlantic dust continues to spill west off of the Saharan desert over the E. Atlantic. Tropical waves continue to “fester” along the south edge of the dust & have the potential to thrive once away from the dust.

2020 names..... “Isaias” is next on the Atlantic list (names are picked at random by the World Meteorological Organization... repeat every 6 years... historic storms are retired (Florence & Michael last year) & Dorian is certain to be retired from the ’19 list....


East Atlantic:


Mid & upper level wind shear (enemy of tropical cyclones) analysis (CIMMS). The red lines indicate strong shear of which there is plenty across most of the Atlantic at the moment:

Water vapor imagery (dark blue indicates dry air):

Deep oceanic heat content is extreme over the NW Caribbean:

Sea surface temp. anomalies:

SE U.S. surface map:

Surface analysis centered on the tropical Atlantic:

Surface analysis of the Gulf:

Caribbean:

In the East Pacific.... “Douglas” is moving away from the Hawaiian Islands after passing by to the north.

Global tropical activity:

Cox Media Group