The subtropical storm threatens to sweep across America
A late-stage subtropical storm heading into the Gulf of Mexico threatens an unreasonable deluge across the United States.
A tornado “disturbance” boasting an ominous “eye” is poised to unleash a storm surge across the Southern states.
Large swathes of the region, already hit by heavy rains, are facing flooding from the latest rainfall before the weekend.
Warm ocean waters and calm winds above provided “favorable” conditions for the storm to build up, called simply “1.”
Forms of tropical disturbance in the Caribbean Sea
Weather channel
Jim Dale, a social commentator and US weather correspondent for the Met Office, said: “We’ll have to keep an eye on the south coast this week.
“There is a storm coming from the Gulf of Mexico that appears to be a subtropical storm that could impact East Texas, Missouri, Florida and Louisiana later this week.
“It’s walking along the south coast, and they seem to be watching it.”
The main risk will be heavy rains for Florida, which is already besieged by heavy rains this fall.
The storm is unusual in that it formed late in the season with abnormally high sea temperatures being blamed.
High temperatures during the summer have left ocean waters still warmer than average during this time of year.
The water temperature around the Gulf of Maine is currently 50.5 F, about 0.5 F higher than normal, while Virginia Key, Florida, is 80.1 F, compared to an average of 78.2 F, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean Sea is expected to intensify in the coming days.
It is also unusual for it to form during an El Niño event, as it has been confirmed to have occurred earlier in the year.
El Niño drives opposing wind currents – wind shear – and sinking air over the Caribbean that usually spell the death knell for hurricane formation.
NOAA tropical disturbance map
Noah
“We’re seeing a band of showers and thunderstorms rolling in near the eastern coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua,” said Jonathan Erdman, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel.
“Computer forecast models over the past few days have consistently indicated that a low pressure area could form later this week in this general location east of Central America and south of Jamaica.
“In records dating back to 1950, only three systems have previously experienced depressions or storms in November during a strong El Niño in the Atlantic Basin.
“So, this could be the first of its kind for the tropical Atlantic in at least 73 years.”
However, he said the storm is likely to move northeastward, deflecting away from the United States and posing no threat.
This comes at a time when large areas of the country are enjoying “spring-like” warmth thanks to the heat wave coming from the south.
This will be driven by a massive, high-pressure “anticyclone” building over Central America, according to experts.
“Over the next couple of days, large parts of the country will see some unusual warmth,” said Ari Sarsalari, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel.
“There’s a big ridge of high pressure that’s fairly wide from west to east, and that means a lot of people are going to get some above-average temperatures.”
