Why Texas May See Back to Back Hurricanes
By Gannon Medwick
Monday, August 04, 2008
Nearly two weeks ago, Hurricane Dolly lashed Deep South Texas with whipping winds and torrential rain. Today, the Lone Star State braces for a potential Hurricane in Edouard. As I type, Edouard is a tropical storm, but it will have a chance to deepen into a hurricane before impacting the Upper Texas Coast on Tuesday.
Why may Texas see two hurricanes in as many weeks? There are two main reasons.
One reason is almost a given this time of year: warm sea surface temperatures. Bouys show that the Gulf of Mexico water temperatures near Texas and Louisiana are in the mid to upper 80s - plenty warm to sustain a developing tropical storm system. Dolly intensified to a hurricane in these waters. Edouard will likely maintain its tropical storm status and may develop into a hurricane as well.
Another reason that Dolly/Edouard was/is guided to Texas is a westerly mid-level atmospheric wind flow, or “steering wind flow” over the Gulf of Mexico. Clockwise wind flow around a persistent high pressure system over the Central Plains has meant a prevailing westerly wind flow across the Gulf of Mexico for many recent days and weeks. Any tropical storm or hurricane caught in these steering winds moves west - toward Texas.
Thanks for checking into my blog. I look forward to reading any questions/comments you may have. Be sure to stay with Storm Team 9 in the coming days for the latest on Edouard!
COMMENTS
Edouard didn’t quite achieve hurricane status before making landfall Tuesday morning, August 5, but it did lash the Upper Texas Coast with strong tropical storm force winds and intense rain bands.
Edouard and Dolly are the first back-to-back tropical storms to directly impact a single state’s coastline since 2004, when Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley made back-to-back landfalls in Florida.
For the latest on tropical weather in the Atlantic Basin, visit the wnct.com Hurricane Center often this season!