StormHound
Weather Guru
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Loc: Orlando, FL
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I really don't know what to make of this, so I figured someone here that studies temperature maps all the time might have more info. There is a group of people on the Climate Patrol website making all kinds of noise about the Gulf Stream disappearing, and how it might effect the upcoming hurricane season. As near as I can tell, it could mean that the United States will be destroyed by the greatest hurricane ever. Or it could mean that Ice Age will descend upon us this summer and we won't see any hurricanes for a long time, but we'll all need to buy parkas.
Is there anything to this at all?
http://www.climatepatrol.com/forum/10/2484/pg1/index.php
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Storm Hound
Computer Geek
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Lamar-Plant City
Storm Tracker
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Loc: Plant City, Florida
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First off, I don't think that post is in the correct forum. Second, I don't think the people at that message board you cited know ANYTHING about the Gulf Stream, surface currents, or how to read SST graphics. Seems to be a bunch of alarmists trying to find anything that might support their 'the sky is falling' ideas. I do not see how they came up with the idea that the Gulf Stream has stopped or even weakened significantly from the images they share. They totally ignore that the water temperatures (even in the stream) get gradually cooler (but still warm relative to water outside the stream) as you go north and north east. They also seem to find something unusual in natural eddies and curls in the stream and they are looking at low resolution images as well. Look at the following image and tell me if you can see a Gulf Stream?
LSU Earth-scan Lab GOES-12 weekly composite
It is true that if the Gulf Stream ever stopped flowing it would cause MAJOR changes in weather, especially in Great Britain and the west coast of Europe (probably other areas as well, but those are the obvious ones). I'm sure there are experts at this site, who might do a more complete job than this, but take a look at the image and consider the source at that message board.
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If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes...
2023 Season Prediction: 17/6/2
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StormHound
Weather Guru
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Loc: Orlando, FL
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Thanks, Lamar. I would have expected the Gulf Stream would have come up in discussion here if there were major disruptions, but their graphics did seem to support their case. The tone of the discussion did seem to indicate a bunch of people that didn't know what they were talking about. I suppose I should have looked around for some other graphics first.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but if there was even a small anount of validity in their argument it would affect the 2007 storm season.
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Storm Hound
Computer Geek
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GuppieGrouper
Weather Master
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Loc: Polk County, Florida
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I think too much emphasis is put on the gulf stream effect on average storms. The gulf stream has always been there and the only way it affects storm development is if the storm has already become volatile and just needs the extra dynamics to go to the next category level. The other thing that I have noticed is that sometimes the storms get caught over the gulf stream due to conflicting air masses but if they do they usually ride it up to the northeast coast and come in around North Carolina or further north. Although computer graphics and data are very entertaining, they are after all just replicated information that has happened in the past. The liklihood that something entirely different than we have seen in our life time has a 50 -50 chance of occurring each hurricane season.
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God commands. Laymen guess. Scientists record.
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