#170 Postby AJC3 » Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:49 pm
As others have pointed out, 96L is currently tightroping the boundary between favorable and unfavorable thermodynamic conditions. Staying attached to the ITCZ is undoubtedly helping it maintain/thrive. This continues to be the primary concern for the fledgling system in the short (48 hours) and medium range (3-5 days).
Where I think it will also get interesting is well down the road, toward a week or so out, when it approaches the LA, and the semi-permanent mid oceanic trough (TUTT) as well as the persistent "wall-o-shear" that has been heretofore predominant over the Caribbean.
Around that time frame., there are indications of some sort of fracturing of the TUTT, and the formation/retrogression of a TUTT low, initially somewhere between 65-75W. Climatologically, this is a fairly common occurrence, especially during the latter portion of the hurricane season. What this does is, at least temporarily (during its existence) is to wrap those strong 200MB westerlies around its circulation, thereby "shielding", to some degree, the area in it's downstream eastern flank, or at least place that area in a more divergent upper wind pattern than favors lift/forced ascent. It's not the greatest place for a TC to be, but its certainly less hostile than a straight W or SW jetstreak of 30-50KT+.
While it's quite a ways down the road, it's still something I think we'll eventually need to keep an eye on with this system, whether it remains an invest or becomes a TC.
0 likes