Olga - hurricane season's last gasp
And you thought the hurricane season was over ... The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories for a new "sub-tropical storm" which has earned the name Olga - the 15th named storm of the 2007 Atlantic season.
The storm is headed for Puerto Rico with winds up to 40 mph and 2 to 4 inches of rain - maybe 6 inches in some locations. That could mean flash flooding and landslides on the U.S. island and farther west on Hispaniola.
Here is the latest advisory. Here is the storm's projected track. And here is the satellite view.
So what's a "subtropical" storm? Here's the hurricane center's definition:
"A non-frontal low pressure system that has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical cyclones.
"The most common type is an upper-level cold low with circulation extending to the surface layer and maximum sustained winds generally occurring at a radius of about 100 miles or more from the center. In comparison to tropical cyclones, such systems have a relatively broad zone of maximum winds that is located farther from the center, and typically have a less symmetric wind field and distribution of convection.
"A second type of subtropical cyclone is a mesoscale low originating in or near a frontolyzing zone of horizontal wind shear, with radius of maximum sustained winds generally less than 30 miles. The entire circulation may initially have a diameter of less than 100 miles. These generally short-lived systems may be either cold core or warm core."
Got that? This will be on the quiz.
