Hammy wrote:I've been going through the 2013 archives I'm noticing similarities--albeit in the opposite direction. Both years the models had struggled significantly.
While 2013 there were unfavorable elements the models weren't picking up (that the pattern wasn't simply part of the typical atmospheric phases), and were thus developing and strengthening everything, it seems like there's some favorable background factor that for whatever reason the models just aren't able to pick up on and thus are either developing nothing, not strengthening them (see Laura for example), or simply not being consistent when they finally do start showing development.
https://i.imgur.com/5NrdE61.jpg One visible anomaly though (which is likely contributing to the MDR being less active than it otherwise has the potential for) is the ITCZ is well north of where it's normally at--it's almost as if the entire Atlantic weather pattern has shifted west by thousands of miles. Marco's entire genesis, track, and trough where it's at reminded me of something you'd see closer to 60-70W rather than in the Gulf, and the subtropical-origin systems this year seem more typical of storms forming in the central or northeastern Atlantic, not off the east coast.
In addition to some delayed development this is leading to storms either recurving much further west than normal--such as Isaias track--or simply ending up stronger than you'd expect for the initial condition of the waves--Hanna and Laura being examples.
I think that favorable factor the models are unable to pick up on properly is what allowed storms like Gonzalo and Josephine, etc to develop and get fairly strong even when the Atlantic was in a suppressed phase. Wonder if the expert forecasters know this and was part of the forecast for such extreme activity despite models being very bad this year. Probably how they learned from 2013.
I think the forecasts will likely verify except for maybe ACE unless the ITCZ begins retreating south (and according to some charts it may be starting to) and allows for MDR activity to flourish and allow CV majors perhaps — which I still think will happen during September, just the problem is we don’t know
when because the models are having such a poor time, so I think we and especially those who basically hug the models (

) will be in for a surprise during September. It’ll be interesting post-season how they determine why the models were acting so poorly this year (asides from COVID and lack of air flights).