Question Box:

[brunota2003]

Hmm… might be a dumb question (lol), but what was the most normal season on record for the Atlantic basin?

Hm...I don't know if you would be able to get a direct answer on that cause the definition of a "normal season" has changed as the seasons have gone on...i.e. what was normal in 1956 might be different now.

But, I am very interested as to see what others have to say.

That's true. Data and averages, etc., have changed since we’ve progressed through time, and it will be interesting to see what the others have to say.

I think you will find this very interesting to your question, notice that they havent updated for 2005 yet though...: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E11.html

[wxmann_91]

Well, I posted this in the 99L thread and it was skipped over. It might be useful now.

What is a Cusp and how does one discern it on satellite imagery?

[wxmann_91]

I can't believe I didn't respond but the Cusp question has been answered already.

[StormScanWx]

I can't believe I didn't respond but the Cusp question has been answered already.

I didn't see an answer. Please elaborate.

[wxmann_91]

I didn't see an answer. Please elaborate.

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic ... 76#1397476

[OuterBanker]

The fact that storms in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise and storms in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise is because of the way we view them. When we view from the northern hemisphere ( n pole looking south) they spin counterclockwise. In the southern hemisphere is just the opposite we look from the southern hemisphere looking north. In reality if you were to view the northern hemisphere through the earth to the southern hemisphere both would be tuning CC and of course the reverse is true.

[JonathanBelles]

The fact that storms in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise and storms in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise is because of the way we view them. When we view from the northern hemisphere ( n pole looking south) they spin counterclockwise. In the southern hemisphere is just the opposite we look from the southern hemisphere looking north. In reality if you were to view the northern hemisphere through the earth to the southern hemisphere both would be tuning CC and of course the reverse is true.

i had a theroy on that but wasnt sure

[Toadstool]

Put your finger on a globe and turn it... the pull is faster at the equator. In the northern hemisphere, the faster moving equator drags the bottom of the storm faster, so it spins counter-clockwise. In the southern hemisphere the opposite is true. It's just physics. Like on those merry-go-rounds as a kid, you could go to the middle and not fly off, but go to the edge and have someone give it a good push and you'd be in the dirt...

[Toadstool]

(same for virtual planets at Lagrange points in space, they also experience this effect)

[Stormavoider]

How often does the quikscat sat cover any given spot? And, is the radar always active or is it only fired up over areas of interest?

[badashley]

This might be a good subject for the Index instead of getting buried in Talking Tropics. I would personally love to have a place where I could just ask questions without getting lost in a really long thread.

[senorpepr]

How often does the quikscat sat cover any given spot? And, is the radar always active or is it only fired up over areas of interest?

In theroy, twice a day. This is the case for the mid-latitudes. The lower latitudes (near the equator) will see twice a day coverage, if at all, because of the width of the Earth at this latitude. The higher latitudes (near the poles) will see more than twice a day coverage because of the frequent satellite crossing over the small point. (The higher the latitude... 24 scans a day is possible)


That's just the life of a polar-orbiting satellite.


(BTW, it scans all over the globe, where possible... not just over interest areas.)

[Stormavoider]

Thank you for the reply. I was just wondering why we didn't get more data on some of these questionable systems.

[MississippiHurricane]

OOOHHHHHHH!!!!! I have a question..... what are the "T-numbers" how high/low is the scale and what does it mean?? THANKS!!!!!

[RattleMan]

OOOHHHHHHH!!!!! I have a question..... what are the "T-numbers" how high/low is the scale and what does it mean?? THANKS!!!!!

See if this can help you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_technique

[MississippiHurricane]

WOW!!! Thanks soooooo much! VERY neat!

[LAwxrgal]

I have a question... I've often heard of shear and shear maps and shear tendencies but what exactly is it? Is it winds aloft? or water currents? I'm unsure as to what exactly it is... Thanks...

[SouthFloridawx]

I have a question... I've often heard of shear and shear maps and shear tendencies but what exactly is it? Is it winds aloft? or water currents? I'm unsure as to what exactly it is... Thanks...

This shows a fairly easy explination of windshear.
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/wwhlpr/modl_shear.rxml?hret=/guides/mtr/hurr/grow/home.rxml

[senorpepr]

I have a question... I've often heard of shear and shear maps and shear tendencies but what exactly is it? Is it winds aloft? or water currents? I'm unsure as to what exactly it is... Thanks...

Shear is essentially a change in winds, whether it's a change in direction (directional shear) or a change in speed (speed shear). Shear can be figured as horizontal shear (a change in winds over the same altitude whether it's at the surface or aloft) and vertical shear (a change in winds over the same location, but at different altitudes).

The shear maps show how much of a change exists and the tendencies show what the trends are.

For overland thunderstorms, shear tends to help the system by adding a vent. However, tropical cyclones don't want this. The lower the shear (or the more uniform the atmosphere is), the better.

[mempho]

OOOHHHHHHH!!!!! I have a question..... what are the "T-numbers" how high/low is the scale and what does it mean?? THANKS!!!!!

See if this can help you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_technique

Follow-up Question:

As I have understood it, T numbers are used when there is an absence of recon. TD 4 has a Dvorak indicating tropical storm strength yet I don't see Debby getting a name. Without recon to the contrary, what is the reasoning for this?