Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 5 January 2017

Quirk may shield U.S. coast during busy hurricane seasons

SETH BORENSTEIN barely registering as a hur- along the U.S. coast. This During those quieter times, which reduce a hurri-
AP Science Writer ricane with 75 mph winds. protective barrier begins when a major hurricane cane’s fuel of hot water.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Kossin’s study published around the U.S.-Mexico forms in the Atlantic it is The changes seem to be
climatic quirk seems to be Wednesday in the journal border in Brownsville, Tex- three to six times more like- just a function of larger
slightly shielding the U.S. Nature found that shifts in as, and gets more notice- ly to rapidly intensify near natural conditions, he said.
coast during busy hurri- air and ocean conditions able around the Atlantic the U.S. coast than during Take October’s Hurri-
cane seasons, often weak- over decades work togeth- coast, Kossin said. the busier times, according cane Matthew: “As it ap-
ening major storms just as er to weaken major storms “It’s a lucky byproduct for to the study. proached Florida, it started
they approach America’s to encounter wind shear,
beaches, a new study which weakened it to a
finds. minimal hurricane,” Kossin
That could help explain said.
why it’s been more than Previously, he also found
11 years since a major hur- that during busy cycles,
ricane with winds of more bigger storms tend to form
than 110 mph has hit the slightly more to the east
United States mainland. — toward Africa — giving
Last year’s Hurricane Mat- them more opportunity to
thew was a perfect exam- curve harmlessly north in
ple of this uniquely Ameri- the Atlantic instead of hit-
can “protective barrier” ting the U.S. coastline. All
of stronger crosswinds and those factors seem to be
cooler coastal waters, ac- helping reduce the U.S.
cording to the study’s au- threat compared to other
thor, climate scientist Jim places in the Atlantic, he
Kossin of the National Oce- said.
anic and Atmospheric Ad- Even with that “protective
ministration. barrier” as Kossin calls in
Matthew devastated Haiti in the paper, there is still a
as a monster storm hitting greater chance of major
land with 145 mph winds, hurricanes nearing the U.S.
threatened Florida as a during busy times than qui-
major hurricane and then This image provided by NOAA NCEI shows a hurricane buffer zone on the Southeastern part of et times, Kossin said. That’s
fizzled as it finally came the U.S. because there are more
ashore in South Carolina, Associated Press storms brewing overall.
the United States coast,” Kossin mapped sea sur- Three outside scientists
Kossin said. “It’s really un- face temperatures and contacted by The Asso-
fortunate that we’re the wind shear levels in the At- ciated Press praised the
only ones that seem to be lantic to see small changes study as interesting, though
benefiting from this situa- near the U.S. coast — but not complete, while two
tion.” only during a busy cycle. others cautioned against
The Atlantic Ocean seems His study found a local- reading too much into it.
to alternate between ized increase in high alti- Georgia Tech’s Judith Cur-
cycles of heavy and low tude crosswinds — called ry called it solid research
hurricane activity. The cur- wind shear — that tear at while Penn State’s David Ti-
rent heavy cycle began in a storm’s structure. It also tley said he worried about
1993, after a low period of found slightly cooler sea small sample size and nat-
more than two decades. surface temperatures, ural variations.q