 Tropical Storm Jova (pronounced Ho-va) has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean from what used to be Hurricane Franklin. Hurricane Franklin made landfall as a category 1 hurricane on the eastern coast of Mexico on the night of August 10, 2017. Soon after landfall, Franklin weakened to a remnant low due to the mountainous terrain of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center issued a forecast discussion before Franklin made landfall to state that once the remnants made it to the warm waters of the Pacific, it could reform (read the story here). The National Hurricane Center then issued a 90% chance that a new system could form from the low that used to be Hurricane Franklin. On August 11, 2017, Tropical Storm Jova was born. Currently, Jova is located south of the Baja Peninsula which could send high swells and rip currents to the coast. Even though the sea-surface temperatures are warm, Jova is experiencing high shear as noted by the thunderstorm activity being displaced to the southwest from the center. As the system moves westward, it will enter cooler sea-surface temperatures and gradually weaken. Jova is not expected to strengthen and is forecasted to be short-lived. Tropical Storm Jova will also not pose a threat to land, however, it may have indirect impacts such as high swells and rip currents.
To read more on the Pacific, click here! ⓒ 2017 Meteorologist Brandie Cantrell
0 Comments
 As forecasters continue to monitor Tropical Storm Franklin in the western Caribbean Sea, models are forecasting Franklin to be revived as it enters the eastern Pacific. Tropical Storm Franklin is expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane late Wednesday night in eastern Mexico. The main threats from Franklin are hurricane-force winds, and torrential rainfall. Storm surge is also a concern along the eastern coastline where waves can be up to 6 feet above normal tide level. Once Franklin makes his second landfall in Mexico, the landscape is not conducive for further development. While Franklin will not be a tropical storm by the time he reaches the Pacific, however, the National Hurricane Center in Miami is giving it a 30% chance of a tropical system developing within the next 5 days. If a tropical system were to develop, it will move into less favorable conditions and is not expected to be long-lived. As this potential system moves northwestward, high surf and rip currents might impact the west coast of Mexico and the Baja Peninsula. South of this area is another potential development area as the National Hurricane Center is predicting a 30% chance of a tropical system developing within the next 5 days. Development isn’t forecasted until later in the week, however, conditions are favorable for gradual development. Once again, this system could bring high surf and rip currents to the coastline of Mexico.
Stay tuned for more updates in the eastern Pacific Ocean here! ⓒ 2017 Meteorologist Brandie Cantrell  DISCUSSION: Residents of the most vulnerable places in the United States never could imagine that tsunami warning systems brought by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center would be on the chopping block by their own government. President Trump initially proposed budget cuts to tsunami warning systems back in May, going silently unnoticed by thousands in places like the state of Hawaii. The motion outlined details to shut down the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Oahu leaving the operations of tsunami warning solely on the Palmer, Alaska Warning Center, the only other tsunami warning center in the United States.
The island of Oahu in itself has a population of nearly 1 million with an estimated 300,000 living in Honolulu susceptible to the effects of a tsunami. Cuts to the tsunami warning system were proposed as a way to save taxpayer money while investing more in military and other areas of interest. On July 13th the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill was passed, including a suggested appropriation of $973 million for the National Weather Service (NWS), which would assist in saving the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Oahu in addition to nearly 60 jobs at stake. If elimination passed, no backup warning system would be in place, and funding for recently added network of deep-sea buoys – relaying real-time information to the warning center would be phased out. The House Appropriation Committee has added that the funding for the NWS is $37 million above the Trump administration’s initial suggestion. Those coastal residents can now sleep easier as the committee was determined to “maintain critical capabilities to provide weather forecasts and warnings.” Of note is the legislation contains $4.97 billions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a solid $140 million above Trumps bid. For more information about weather in the news visit the Global Weather and Climate Center. © Meteorologist Jessica Olsen Reference: "The U.S. House of Representatives Committee On Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen." Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2018 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill | Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2017. "The U.S. House of Representatives Committee On Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen." Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2018 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill | Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2017.  Discussion: As Tropical Depression Hilary continues to degenerate this evening, Tropical Storm Irwin remains. However, a few days before dissipating, Hilary and Irwin were interacting in a rare phenomenon called the Fujiwhara effect. The Fujiwhara effect, named after Japanese meteorologist Sasuke Fujiwhara is a meteorological phenomenon where two cyclones within a distance of 600 to 900 miles from each other begin to orbit each other around a center point between them, like two pinwheels. The two cyclones, now attracted to each other will begin to move closer until they merge into one system. However, this is not always the case, as sometimes they will move away from each other, though typically one storm, typically the larger one will absorb part of the other (smaller) storm, causing one to intensify, and the other to weaken. . Ironically, it was predicted that Hilary would absorb Irwin, as it was stronger at the time, yet as I noted above, Hilary has degenerated, and Irwin is still active. Although, their trajectory was changed due to the orbiting effect of the Fujiwhara effect, the two storms don’t look like they will be merging completely as expected either, at least not yet. Even more unusual, these two storms were experiencing the Fujiwhara effect on the same day a pair of Western Pacific tropical cyclones, Typhoon Noru and Tropical Storm Kulap were experiencing the Fujiwhara effect as well. Hilary and Irwin experienced the latter, with them orbiting each other, but not merging. While these two storms may not have followed the prediction exactly, it is interesting to see this rare phenomenon happening in two places on the same day. To learn more about this and other high-impact weather events occurring across the Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean, be sure to click here! |
RSS Feed