US Storm Followers Disappointed
by Chance O'Litnin July 22 2017Pundits and amateur storm watchers alike eagerly awaited this US hurricane season, but the past week has been disappointing.
The outlook offered many promises as tropical storm Don developed off the right coast of the Southern US. Watchers in Latin America were concerned that it would close off travel and cost Mexico a lot of money, but the effects turned out to be mostly wind. Its path potentially left the Virgin islands exposed, but unfavorable headwinds and internal turbulence slowed it down and left them dry and unmolested. Erratic wind shear and crosscurrents made the storm impossible to follow and it seemingly lost direction, so fears of a major health crisis were unfulfilled and the status quo prevailed. Yet it did succeed in stirring up deep and little-known waters and bringing strange things to the surface, so its aftereffects may be around for a long time.
Meanwhile tropical depression 8E was floundering around off the left coast of California. Fans of female-named storms eagerly expected it to progress into Hurricane Hillary and become a storm of historic proportions; their enthusiasm was not shared by the general public however. Some hoped it would deliver relief to the middle of the country, while others feared it would turn right and merely flood the upper elevations. Instead its only historical significance was its sudden and unexpected dissipation despite seemingly favorable conditions, leaving behind only memories of a depression.
So we wait and see what the rest of the season brings. Looking at the lists of possible future storms we can only wonder what will happen with Sara or Paul in 2018, not to mention Barry in 2019, Marco in 2020 or Rick in 2021.
So that's my thoroughly amateurish take on the current US season. Those with a more professional interest in the topic can find more info about Don at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Tropical_Storm_Don
and 8E (the Hillary that wasn't) at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Pacific_hurricane_season#Tropical_Depression_Eight-E
NOAA has the lists of future names
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml
