Instability (convection) – warm, moist air that rises due to its buoyancy, or lightness.Sufficient humidity (moisture) in the mid-atmosphere.Warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) – at least 26.5☌ (80☏).The Scienceįor starters, let’s outline the conditions scientists have found necessary – but not sufficient – for a tropical cyclone to develop: The researchers used a compilation of ocean data from the past 50 years to show that a warmer climate (hence a warmer ocean surface) can directly impact the intensity, duration, and precipitation of recent tropical cyclones. The science of Harvey’s rare, heavy rainfall – which amounted to over 60 inches within a week in some areas – has been explored by the present study. By being situated over both land and water, it was continuously fed by warm, moist air from the sea while pouring torrential rain over land (see Figure 2). The front acted as a barrier that locked the storm in place over the Houston area. Harvey, a category 4 hurricane with winds reaching over 130 miles per hour, barreled through the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Texas on August 26th, where it collided with an atmospheric front – a boundary between air masses of different temperatures. Figure 1: Accumulated rainfall from Harvey (August 17-31, 2017) from satellite data. Geological Survey reported last week that Harvey was the most significant rainfall event on record in the country. After evaluating its effects on the Greater Houston area, the U.S. It’s tied with Hurricane Katrina (2005) as the costliest hurricane in U.S. Harvey was unique in that it poured exceptional amounts of rain on the Houston area (see Figure 1), flooding hundreds of thousands of homes, displacing tens of thousands of residents, and causing $125 billion USD in damages. Most of the damage was caused by three major hurricanes that occurred within a month of each other: Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Many survivors’ lives were left in ruins. dollars (USD) in the destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Collectively, the 2017 hurricanes cost thousands of lives and over $300 billion U.S. This June, we entered the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season carrying the burden of fresh wounds last year’s string of hurricanes added up to one of the most catastrophic seasons on record.
Hurricane Harvey Links to Ocean Heat Content and Climate Change Adaptation.
Article: Trenberth, K.E., Cheng, L., Jacobs, P., Zhang, Y., & Fasullo, J.
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