Ramblings of a Graduate Student

For the first time in a long time, the low pressure moving off the east coast did not drag a cold front through the entire Gulf of Mexico.  This means that the “deeper” and “richer” moisture is still lingering across the southern Gulf of Mexico (brighter colors in the image above).  This will allow the next couple of storm systems to more easily draw moisture northward into them. Fortunately for those who do not like (severe) thunderstorms, last night’s post indicated that most of the low pressure areas this next week will stay out of the central portion of the United Statesp, and thus will not really tap into this moisture.  Unfortunately for those same people, this means that the moisture will continue to get better across the Gulf of Mexico and the when a low finally does move into the plains, it should have no problem accessing this “better” moisture.

Also, tomorrow is post number 100.  I’ll try to do something special.

Today marks the beginning of meteorological spring and with that, most meteorologists begin to think more about the spring severe thunderstorm and tornado season.  One of the necessary ingredients for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is warm, moist air at low-levels.  This early in the severe weather season, the source of this warm, moist air is often the western Gulf of Mexico.  (Later in the season, moisture is drawn north from the Gulf of Mexico after it has originated in the Caribbean Sea.)

The image above displays the current sea-surface temperatures for the Gulf of Mexico.  The warmer the sea-surface temperatures, the warmer and more moist the air near the surface tends to be.  However, near the Texas coast, the water temperatures are very cold (~60F).  This means that air originating over these points tends to be cooler and drier than air located over the southeast Gulf of Mexico.

Lastly, often times when hurricanes are moving through the Gulf of Mexico, they will rapidly intensity.  This rapid intensification often occurs when the hurricane moves over what is known as the Loop Current.  The Loop Current is part of the Gulf Stream Current that is located in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s an eddy of warmer water in the Gulf.  This warm water often acts to provide more fuel for hurricanes allowing them to strengthen more rapidly than they otherwise might if the Loop Current were not there.  The Loop Current is not stationary and will move around in the Gulf of Mexico.  Currently, the “peninsula” of warmer waters extending northward between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico is the Loop Current.

For help with converting the Celsius temperatures above into Fahrenheit temperatures, use the following scale:

• 0C = 32F
• 5C = 41F
• 10C = 50F
• 15C = 59F
• 20C = 68F
• 25C = 77F
• 30C = 86F