Tropical Storm Larry Forms in the Atlantic


Tropical Storm Larry formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean early Wednesday, making it the 12th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season and fourth last week as it entered the season’s peak season.

The storm was about 175 miles south of Africa’s Cabo Verde Islands and was moving northwestward. It was expected to strengthen over the next few days and turn into a hurricane late Thursday or Friday. National Hurricane Center said.

It’s been a dizzying few weeks for meteorologists, who have watched several named storms form in rapid succession across the Atlantic, bringing stormy weather, flooding, and damaging winds to parts of the United States and Caribbean.

In addition to Ida, that hit Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, there was also Julian and Kate, both quickly extinguished within a day. shortly before they Tropical Storm FredLanding in the Florida Panhandle in mid-August, Hurricane Gracehit Haiti and Mexico and Tropical Storm HenriIt caused a power outage and brought record rainfall to the Northeastern United States two weeks ago.

The rapid succession of named storms may seem like the Atlantic is spinning them like a fast-paced conveyor belt, but their formation coincides with the peak of hurricane season.

Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center, said the period between August and October produced 78 percent of tropical storms, 87 percent of minor hurricanes and 96 percent of major hurricanes. Maximum activity occurred from early to mid-September, he said.

The links between hurricanes and climate change are becoming more apparent. A warming planet can expect to see stronger hurricanes and a higher incidence of the strongest storms over time – but the overall storm count may decrease because factors such as stronger wind shear can prevent weaker storms from forming.

Hurricanes also get wetter due to more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere; scientists have suggested storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017 produced far more rain than it would have had without human effects on the climate.. Also, rising sea levels are contributing to higher storm surge, the most destructive element of tropical cyclones.

A big United Nations climate report The report, released in August, warned that nations are delaying curbing fossil fuel emissions so long that they can no longer prevent global warming from intensifying over the next 30 years, leading to more frequent life-threatening heat waves and severe droughts. Tropical cyclones have likely become more intense over the past 40 years, a change that cannot be explained by natural variability alone, according to the report.

Ana became the first named storm of the season on May 23, marking the seventh year that a named storm has developed across the Atlantic before the official start of the season on June 1.

In May, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 13 to 20 named storms This year, there will be six to 10 hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher in the Atlantic. In a mid-season update to the forecasts in early August, they continued to warn that this year’s hurricane season will be above average, suggesting the season is coming to a heavy end.

Matthew Rosencrans of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said an updated forecast suggests there will be between 15 and 21 named storms, including seven to 10 hurricanes, by the end of the season on November 30. year 2021.

had last year 30 named stormsIncluding six major hurricanes, it forced meteorologists a second time to exhaust the alphabet and switch to Greek letters.

This was the highest number of storms on record, exceeding 28 in 2005, and included the second highest number of hurricanes on record.



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