Are SSTs overrated?
Posted by
Gianmarc on 6/21/2012, 5:06 pm
Over the past few years we've repeatedly seen storms attain tropical storm or hurricane status over waters we consider to be far too cool to sustain warm-core systems. I don't think this necessarily has anything to do with "climate change." It's not that waters are warmer; it's that storms are forming over waters that we think are colder than tropical systems need to survive. Chris has thrived over 70-degree waters. Storms back in the Greek Alphabet season of 2005 sustained themselves over comparative icy SSTs in December and January.
Maybe there's a pattern here; maybe there isn't. Maybe we know less about the relationship between SSTs and tropical storm formation than we think we do. I think it's a fair question to ponder at this point.
For my money, forecast discussions regarding Hurricane Chris have been frustratingly matter-of-fact considering the phenomenon we're observing here-- a storm that not only sustains itself over colder waters, but intensifies to the point of attaining hurricane status. |
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Are SSTs overrated? - Gianmarc, 6/21/2012, 5:06 pm Post A Reply
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