SouthFloridawx wrote:
Compare that to april 19th of 2005
http://srbdata.jhuapl.edu/d0043/avhrr/g ... _multi.png
Although the Gulf is certainly warm.. it doesn't mean much. Look at April 17 2001:
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/d ... 7.2001.gif
Even warmer and we couldn't even get a hurricane landfall in the US that year. The upper winds dominate the gulf of mexico.. it is warm there every year! The only reason that I look at Atlantic SSTs is that there is a good signal about seasonal forecasting there...
Here is mid May 2005:
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/d ... 7.2005.gif
most of the gulf is cool.. and yet the gulf area broke every record. the mixed layers for the gulf are so shallow... the shelf warms up with a week of little wind.. and once the sun gets overhead the gulf is good to go..