The Storm Hits the Coast
|
The existence of a rotating storm with an eye in the South
Atlantic means that regional waters are now warm enough to
generate the kind of moist upward flows of air that trigger
tropical storms and hurricanes. Whether or not this will
become a permanent weather feature is unknown. But it is
known that ocean surfaces worldwide are warming, and
therefore that incidents like this will become more common in
the future.
Not since 1966 has a storm of this type struck the South
American coast. Not since 1991 has a storm with the
structure of a hurricane appeared in the South Atlantic. If it
has sustained winds above 74 mph, the Brazil hurricane
qualifies as a Category 1 storm, the least powerful hurricane.
If, indeed, the wind readings are correct--the U.S. has no
hurricane watch aircraft in the area, and Brazil has no means
to analyze hurricanes, so the actual state of this storm is
open to question. Brazilian officials say that it is not a
hurricane or tropical storm. U.S. officials disagree.
What is known is that the storm is striking the southern coast
of Brazil, and one child and seven fishermen, so far, are
missing. It is also probable that it is the largest storm of this
type ever seen in the region. Earlier records are sketchy, but
there is no evidence that either of the earlier storms were as
powerful.
As the oceans warm and the stratosphere cools due to global
warming, the potential for more, and more powerful, storms
rises worldwide. The possibility of a super-hurricane taking
place in the traditional hurricane alley of the Caribbean and
Gulf of Mexico is now substantial.
Another major ocean mystery is why ships and planes
continue to be lost in the area known as the
Bermuda Triangle. This
is one of the best books we've ever seen on the subject:
extensively researched and extensively illustrated.
For more information, click here.
