Cape Verde-type hurricane

Cape Verde-type hurricane

A Cape Verde-type hurricane is an Atlantic hurricane that develops near the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open ocean over which to develop before encountering land.

Origin

Cape Verde-type hurricanes typically develop from tropical waves which form in the African savanna during the wet season, then move into the African steppes. The disturbances move off the western coast of Africa and become tropical storms or tropical cyclones near the Cape Verde Islands, usually in August or September.

Typical tracks

A typical Cape Verde hurricane will form as a tropical depression just south of the Cape Verde islands. They normally reach hurricane strength in the mid-Atlantic, but sometimes will strengthen closer to Cape Verde or the Caribbean.

Once it begins approaching North America, a Cape Verde hurricane has several basic tracks.

* It can continue to the west, and if it is far enough south, it will cross the Lesser Antilles into the Caribbean Sea. From there it will often continue westward into Nicaragua, Honduras, or Belize.
* If the storm is further north, it can travel up the Greater Antilles and into the U.S. Gulf Coast. In 1998, Hurricane Georges took a track of this nature. Slightly further north, and the storm will track through the Bahamas and into Florida in the manner of 1992's Hurricane Andrew.
* A more northerly storm will begin to have its track affected by the high pressure that generally occurs over the eastern Atlantic in late summer. As these storms pass north of the Antilles, their tracks begin to curve to the north. Often this results in the storms making landfall in North or South Carolina. Hurricane Hugo was a typical example. If the storm's track is affected significantly, it will often curve back out to sea, where it becomes extratropical over cooler water. An example of such was Hurricane Edouard in 1996. Occasionally storms following this track can accelerate to the north and strike New England. The New England Hurricane of 1938 and Hurricane Gloria in 1985 were two such cases.
* Sometimes, the subtropical ridge is farther west than usual such that the storm recurves quickly and is driven around the east side of the ridge in the central Atlantic, generally missing land completely. An example of such was Hurricane Maria in 2005.

Note that while these tracks are typical, Cape Verde hurricanes are not bound to follow them and often do not.

Because this type of hurricane takes a near-westward path that starts in the eastern Atlantic, they can avoid the two situations that typically end the life of a tropical cyclone: interaction with land, and movement over cool water. Since they can go for several weeks without having either affect them, Cape Verde-type hurricanes are some of the longest-lived storms. Hurricane Faith, the third longest lasting Atlantic hurricane on record, was a Cape Verde hurricane. It lasted 16 days total and was a hurricane for 13.Fact|date=July 2008

Major Cape Verde-type hurricanes

The category is the peak intensity of the hurricane, measured on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

ee also

*List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
*List of tropical cyclones

External links

* [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A2.html NOAA AOML Hurricane Research Division definition of a Cape Verde-type hurricane]
* [http://www.accd.edu/sac/earthsci/sgirhard/1370.090/chap5.htm Talks about hurricanes in general and Cape Verde hurricanes]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cape Verde — This article is about the country. For the surface feature on Mars, see Cape Verde (Mars). For weather pattern, see Cape Verde type hurricane. Republic of Cape Verde República de Cabo Verde   (Portuguese) …   Wikipedia

  • Geography of Cape Verde — The location of Cape Verde. Map of the Ca …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of Cape Verde — …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Danielle (1998) — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Danielle Type=hurricane Year=1998 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Danielle 01 sept 1998 1858Z.jpg Formed=August 24, 1998 Dissipated=September 3, 1998 1 min winds=90 Pressure=960 Da Fatalities=None reported… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Fabian — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Fabian Type=hurricane Year=2003 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Fabian 02 sept 2003.jpg Leeward Islands Formed=August 25, 2003 Dissipated=September 8, 2003 1 min winds=125 Pressure=939 Da Inflated=0… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Donna — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Donna Type=hurricane Year=1960 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Donna.jpg Formed=August 29, 1960 Dissipated=September 14, 1960 1 min winds=140 Pressure=930 Da Fatalities=364 direct Areas=Leeward Islands, Puerto… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Edouard (1996) — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Edouard Type=hurricane Year=1996 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Edouard 26 aug 1996 1744Z.jpg Formed=August 19, 1996 Dissipated=September 3, 1996 1 min winds=125 Pressure=933 Da Inflated=2 Fatalities=2 direct… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Danielle (2004) — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Danielle Type=hurricane Year=2004 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Danielle 16 aug 2004 1145Z.jpg Formed=August 13, 2004 Dissipated=August 21, 2004 1 min winds=95 Pressure=964 Da Fatalities=None Areas=No land… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Faith — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Faith Type=hurricane Year=1966 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Faith 1966.jpg Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina coast. Formed=August 21, 1966 Dissipated=September 6, 1966 1 min winds=110 Pressure=950 Da… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Gloria — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Gloria Type=hurricane Year=1985 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Gloria (1985).jpg Formed=September 16, 1985 Dissipated=October 2, 1985 1 min winds=125 Pressure=919 Da Inflated=3 Fatalities=8 direct Areas=North… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”