Tropical Storm Alex likely to flood South Florida
Extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent as the earth warms. According to the National Climate Assessment, the frequency of heat waves, torrential downpours, and significant storms in the United States has grown, as has the intensity of these occurrences.
Because South Florida is primarily a ‘peninsula’ (covered by sea on three sides), these weather patterns are more severe in this area. Hurricanes are more frequent in this location since it is closest to the sea.
What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that originates over tropical or subtropical oceans.
A tropical cyclone is a low-pressure system that rotates inward and comprises structured thunderstorms but no separating boundary or front between the two air masses of different densities. However, if a tropical cyclone has a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 mph (miles per hour), it is termed a ‘Tropical depression,’ but if the wind speed exceeds 74 mph, it becomes a hurricane.
Measurement
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a hurricane classification scale that grades hurricanes from 1 to 5 based on their maximum sustained winds. The higher the rating, the greater the possibility of property damage from the disaster.
Tropical Storm Alex
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season began on Wednesday, and analysts predict that the first system will cause landfall in South Florida this weekend.
According to the National Hurricane Center, a region of low pressure might form near the Yucatan Peninsula due to Hurricane Agatha’s aftermath and the energy from Agatha’s remnants will continue to move northeast into the Gulf of Mexico.
The experts suggest that a tropical depression is expected to form somewhere between the Yucatan Peninsula and South Florida. If it strengthens into a tropical storm, per analysts’ predictions, it will be called Hurricane Alex.
Current Forecast About Tropical Storm Alex
Computer simulations continue to offer two options: The GFS predicts a lower-impact southern track while the Euro is a more impactful northern track. Despite the fact that the GFS forecast has a weaker system tracking the South Florida area, it has been drifting north and growing stronger, moving closer to the Euro prediction.
At this moment, it appears like the effect will be more of a rain than wind, but the rain might be significant on Friday and Saturday. According to the National Hurricane Center, a tropical depression is most likely to form in the next day or so as a large area of low pressure lifts through the northwest Caribbean. It is the system that is expected to bring significant rain & flooding to South Florida on Friday and Saturday.
