Tropics Still Quiet! Cold Air Sweeping East…
Does this image look familiar? Okay, that might be a trick question. It’s probably been a long week for you too. But, I posted almost the exact same image from Unisys Weather on Monday, talking about theĀ cool down on both coasts. It looks like the weather pattern is going to repeat itself for the beginning of next week, with cool Canadian air seeping into the forecast for the West Coast, Midwest and East Coast. Cooler, drier temperatures will make it as far south as Albuquerque, New Mexico and Jackson, Mississippi.
It may be jacket weather tonight for Friday Night Football.
The National Hurricane Center is watching a tropical wave in the Atlantic. The satellite imagery shows a less than impressive area of showers and thunderstorms, and NHC forecasters give it a less than 30% chance for development.
It’s going to be a quiet weekend in the tropics. Honestly, it’s October 2nd. I’ll keep watching the tropics, but it’s looking like a pretty uneventful year. Dry air and wind shear did a number on most developing storms.
I hope you had a chance to read my blog about the SAL and hurricanes. I’ll continue to update the article when I find out more information. Research regarding the Saharan Air Layer and its effect on hurricanes is ongoing. This year, however, the SAL was not widespread. Scientists are favoring the idea that El Nino and the wind shear that is associated with it, dry air, and the upper level wind pattern were the main reasons for the somewhat uneventful year in the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll talk more about that at the end of the season when we have some expert opinions on this topic.
Check out the new category on my page: Hurricane Special. It has an article about Dr. William Gray, the hurricane forecaster, and the Saharan Air Layer.
Also, Dr. Jeff Masters has the latest on the typhoon (hurricanes in the western Pacific) on his blog. The storms are lining up in the western Pacific Ocean. His blog is in the links to your left.
-Dawn Brown

