baltimoresun.com

« PM rain welcome; great weekend ahead | Main | Maryland drought deepens »

July 19, 2007

Is dust over Atlantic stifling hurricanes?

The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season continues to be very tranquil. After an early start that spawned two quick storms in late May and early June, the tropics have settled down quite nicely. (Of course, as soon as I note such trends, they reverse. Beware.) Here's all the National Hurricane Center is watching at the moment.

Saharan dust over E. Atlantic - NASA Terra satelliteOne explanation for the failure of the eastern Atlantic to generate tropical storms at this time of year has been the presence of large clouds of Saharan dust in the atmosphere. Some scientists believe such clouds stifle the formation of the kinds of tropical storms that can eventually reach the Caribbean and the U.S. coast. Here's another shot.

Satellite imagery in recent weeks has been documenting exactly such clouds off West Africa. At left is a shot of the eastern Atlantic, taken Monday by NASA's Terra Earth-observing satellite. Some African dust has been tracked as far west as the Caribbean.

Officially, this has been forecast to be an abnormally active hurricane season - not as busy as the record season of 2005, but busier than last year's unexpectedly quiet summer. Here is the latest National Weather Service estimate for the current season.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 12:49 PM | | Comments (0)
Categories: Hurricane background
        

Post a comment

All comments must be approved by the blog author. Please do not resubmit comments if they do not immediately appear. You are not required to use your full name when posting, but you should use a real e-mail address. Comments may be republished in print, but we will not publish your e-mail address. Our full Terms of Service are available here.

Verification (needed to reduce spam):

About Frank Roylance
Frank Roylance is a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. He came to Baltimore from New Bedford, Mass. in 1980 to join the old Evening Sun. He moved to the morning Sun when the papers merged in 1992, and has spent most of his time since covering science, including astronomy and the weather. One of The Baltimore Sun's first online Web logs, the Weather Blog debuted in October 2004. In June 2006 Frank also began writing comments on local weather and stargazing for The Baltimore Sun's print Weather Page. Frank also answers readers’ weather queries for the newspaper and the blog. Frank Roylance retired in October 2011. Maryland Weather is now being updated by members of The Baltimore Sun staff
-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Recent posts

Sign up for FREE weather alerts*
Get free Baltimore Sun mobile alerts
Sign up for weather text alerts
SKY NOTES WEATHER

Returning user? Update preferences.
Sign up for more Sun text alerts
*Standard message and data rates apply. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.
Maryland Weather Center


Area Weather Stations
Resources and Sun coverage
• Weather news

• Readers' photos

• Data from the The Sun's weather station

• 2011 stargazers' calendar

• Become a backyard astronomer in five simple steps

• Baltimore Weather Archive
Daily airport weather data for Baltimore from 1948 to today

• National Weather Service:
Sterling Forecast Office

• Capital Weather Gang:
Washington Post weather blog

• CoCoRaHS:
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Local observations by volunteers

• Weather Bug:
Webcams across the state

• National Data Buoy Center:
Weather and ocean data from bay and ocean buoys

• U.S. Drought Monitor:
Weekly maps of drought conditions in the U.S.

• USGS Earthquake Hazards Program:
Real-time data on earthquakes

• Water data:
From the USGS, Maryland

• National Hurricane Center

• Air Now:
Government site for air quality information

• NWS Climate Prediction Center:
Long-term and seasonal forecasts

• U.S. Climate at a Glance:
NOAA interactive site for past climate data, national, state and city

• Clear Sky Clock:
Clear sky alerts for stargazers

• NASA TV:
Watch NASA TV

• Hubblesite:
Home page for Hubble Space Telescope

• Heavens Above:
Everything for the backyard stargazer, tailored to your location

• NASA Eclipse Home Page:
Centuries of eclipse predictions

• Cruise Critic: Hurricane Zone:
Check to see how hurricanes may affect your cruise schedule

• Warming World:
NASA explains the science of climate change with articles, videos, “data visualizations,” and space-based imagery.

• What on Earth:
NASA blog on current research at the space agency.
Most Recent Comments
Categories
Blogroll
Blog updates
Recent updates to baltimoresun.com news blogs
 Subscribe to this feed
Charm City Current

 Subscribe to this feed
Monthly Archives
Stay connected
Powered by Movable Type 3.36