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| Fig. 1 NOAA on Hurricane Formation |
I. Difference And Sameness Matter
What if meteorologists used nomenclature that was as 'accurate', 'to-the-point', and meaningful as some other 'disciplines' used?
For example, Realtors have a nomenclature that emphasizes 'value':
“Location, location, location” is a terse maxim emphasizing that a property’s value and desirability depend more on where it is than on its physical features or condition. Originating in real estate, it encapsulates three interrelated ideas ... Practical takeaway: when evaluating property, prioritize immutable or hard-to-change location attributes and their long-term trajectory; treat physical improvements as secondary enhancers, not substitutes, for a strong location."
(What does the phrase "Location, Location, Location" mean?). Another nomenclature phrase is "where it's at" used in the language of songs, hippies, beatniks, and others:
" 'Where its at' ... Where the main action (of an activity) is taking place and, thus, metaphorically the supposed centre of almost anything - fashion, music etc. In itself the phrase is almost a fashion item and has only come into the English language within the last 50 years. It's under the "Hippie Counterculture of the 1960s" in "Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang" by Tom Dalzell (Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Md., 1996): where it's at -- The core of what is important or what is happening."
(Phrase Finder). You would think that scientists such as 'meteorologists' would adhere to even more exactness than Realtors or Entertainers, but as this Dredd Blog series has shown, such is not the case (The El Nino/La Nina Chronicles, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12).
II. In the Hurricane 'Business' Location Is Where It's At
Deeper down in Meteorology the two phrases referred to above get scientific in a life and death nomenclature way.
In a NOAA post the question "What Does the Sahara Desert Have to Do with Hurricanes?" is asked and answered:
(NOAA: What Does the Sahara Desert Have to Do with Hurricanes?). The location, location, and location is the where it's at of most hurricanes that begin as tropical depressions just off the coast of Africa, west of the Sahara desert."What does the Sahara Desert in Africa have to do with hurricanes in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern Pacific Ocean?
You might think this sounds a little crazy because hurricanes are very wet and deserts are very dry, but if it weren't for this huge, hot, dry region in North Africa, we would see far fewer hurricanes in the United States.
The Sahara Desert is massive, covering 10 percent of the continent of Africa. It would be the largest desert on Earth, but based strictly on rainfall amounts, the continent of Antarctica qualifies as a desert and is even larger.
Still, rainfall in the Sahara is very infrequent; some areas may not get rain for years and the average total rainfall is less than three inches per year.
While not the largest or driest of the deserts, the Sahara has a major influence on weather across the Western Hemisphere.
How a Tropical Storm Starts A-Brewin'The role the Sahara Desert plays in hurricane development is related to the easterly winds (coming from the east) generated from the differences between the hot, dry desert in north Africa and the cooler, wetter, and forested coastal environment directly south and surrounding the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa. The result is a strong area of high altitude winds commonly called the African Easterly Jet. If these winds were constant, we would also experience fewer hurricanes.
However, the African Easterly Jet is unstable, resulting in undulations in a north-south direction, often forming a corresponding north to south trough, or wave, that moves westward off the West African Coast. When these waves of air have enough moisture, lift, and instability, they readily form clusters of thunderstorms, sometimes becoming correlated with a center of air circulation. When this happens, a tropical cyclone may form as the areas of disturbed weather move westward across the Atlantic.
Throughout most of the year, these waves typically form every two to three days in a region near Cape Verde (due west of Africa), but it is the summer to early fall when conditions can become favorable for tropical cyclone development.
Not all hurricanes that form in the Atlantic originate near Cape Verde, but this has been the case for most of the major hurricanes that have impacted the continental United States."
III. Where Da Sahara Hurricanes At?
In about the first week of October historical records were being broken because as NOAA indicated, "we would see far fewer hurricanes in the United States" if the Sahara Desert changed and no longer produced Tropical Storms that were turned into hurricanes as they were moved westward by Africa-to-USA winds.
Everyone realized that zero hurricanes is in fact "far fewer" than what has happened historically by this time.
A different scenario began to happen which was different from the World Ocean Database (WOD) Zones 7001 to 7301 area hurricane generation.
That difference was that a tropical low began to develop in a different, far to the west, WOD Zone unrelated to the Sahara Desert formation area.
Instead, Zone 7209 in the Gulf of Mexico was the origin of that storm, which moved North Eastward towards the Southern Coast of the USA, making landfall near Destin, Florida as hurricane Isaias.
Contrary to mythical statements by meteorologists this was not a historical Sahara Desert engendered hurricane, nor were the large number of hurricanes it formed close to that were forming in the Pacific Ocean this year.
Isaias crossed the USA in a north-easterly direction as a thunderstorm type of event, exiting into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
It was offshore, moving slowly in a north-east direction when a wind moving east across the northern USA states also entered into the Atlantic.
Once offshore it fused with the remnants of Isaias, and together they became a strong storm with a central 'eye' and a hurricane 'look and feel'.
It continued north east and made landfall in Iceland of all places.
IV. So What Happened To The Sahara
To Cause Far Fewer Hurricanes In The United States?
According to reports, the Sahara has had and will continue to have changes in recent years (Scientists predict a wetter, greener future for the Sahara Desert, A Deluge for the Sahara, Britannica).
Well, we know that this year is different in terms of hurricanes engendered there over past years, but we have to wait to see if it continues.
Making up El Nino myths is not science, however, degeneration of the Arctic is an observable phenomenon and is scientific (Watching The Arctic Die, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
The previous post in this series is here.
