Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones! All are storms, but we use different names for these tropical storms in different places. In the next few days, could we have all three simultaneously occurring across the world? Probably, hurricanes and typhoons only.
Hurricanes in Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic hurricane season commences in June and lasts till November. However, there are far too many variables in the atmosphere that dictate weather patterns. Therefore, storms can occur even earlier and last longer, in a particular year. This year could be such a year, as we expect a hurricane to form in next few days.
Frontal Disturbance
A frontal boundary brought a wet spell last week in South Florida and Key West. Remnants of this system will be revived by an infusion of energy from the southern or subtropical branch of the jet stream. Conditions seem favourable for formation of a hurricane, but we could say there is a 30% chance.
Another important requisite for formation of a hurricane is the sea surface temperature, which should be 26°C or more. The first hurricane of the season will be named ‘Ana’.
In May 2012, we’ve seen a pair of tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, occur off the coast of the Carolinas, Georgia and north Florida.
Typhoons in Northwest Pacific Ocean
The typhoon season in the western Pacific Ocean runs almost throughout the year, but the most significant ones occur from May to October. During these months they are most intense and more frequent. This year, we’ve had three typhoon so far, namely Higos, Maysak and the Noul.
Higos was the all-time strongest typhoon to develop in the month of February. However, it did not make a landfall and fizzled out in the sea itself.
Typhoon Maysak made landfall in the Philippines, as a tropical depression. The storm had started as a super typhoon in the Pacific, but weakened significantly before it reached the northern coast of Philippines.
At present, the tropical storm Noul is all set to become a typhoon in the western pacific region.
Cyclones in Indian Ocean
Historically they have been the deadliest basin for severe cyclones.
There are two seasons for cyclonic storms to form in the Indian seas – pre-monsoon (April and May) and post-monsoon (October to December). The pre-monsoon month of May generally witnesses more cyclones than April. In the previous month, we did not have any cyclone at all. Click here to read about Cyclone free April. Skymet will keep its readers updated about its chances in May.
Image credit- www.greenarea.me
