Clark
(Meteorologist)
Sun Oct 30 2005 10:03 PM
Re: IR satellite question

That is a reflection of somewhat more stable air being channeled through the Chevala pass from the Bay of Campeche into the Gulf of Tehuantepec around the west side of Beta, definitely. It's a fairly common occurence with a tropical cyclone in the Gulf or western Caribbean and can sometimes help spin up a tropical system in the Pacific when there is an active wave along the ITCZ...i.e. it can give that extra little oomph/kick to a wave to help it develop if it was on the borderline beforehand.

But for now, though, you aren't going to see such a thing -- air in the Gulf is pretty dry & relatively cool and you're getting some stratocumulus development as a result of the temperature differential between the sea surface and near-surface air. Cool to watch, though.



Note: This is NOT an official page. It is run by weather hobbyists and should not be used as a replacement for official sources. 
CFHC's main servers are currently located at Hostdime.com in Orlando, FL.
Image Server Network thanks to Mike Potts and Amazon Web Services. If you have static file hosting space that allows dns aliasing contact us to help out! Some Maps Provided by:
Great thanks to all who donated and everyone who uses the site as well. Site designed for 800x600+ resolution
When in doubt, take the word of the National Hurricane Center