Jamaica prepares for ‘catastrophic’ category 5 storm to make landfall early Tuesday local time; track the Hurricane’s path
Although terrifying wind speeds of up to 280 kilometers per hour have been detected in Melissa, the storm is moving at a walking pace. The combination of slow forward motion and strong inland winds made this storm particularly dangerous.
Slow-moving hurricanes allow the higher winds (wind rotation speed) within them to hit their impact areas for longer and drop larger amounts of rain.
Chefs prepare meals in a shelter set up at a school in Old Harbour, Jamaica.Credit: access point
Research shows that tropical cyclones are moving significantly slower around the world as the climate warms.
Between 1949 and 2016, the global turnover rate of tropical cyclones decreased by an average of 10 percent. A recent study shows that. This reduction directly affects the amount of rain a given area receives from a hurricane, as slower-moving storms linger longer and drop more rain. This effect is amplified as warmer atmospheres hold more water vapor, leading to increased rainfall rates in tropical cyclones.
Accordingly Analysis by Yale Climate ConnectionsMelissa rapidly intensified due to overheating of the waters in the central Caribbean, where record sea surface temperatures were recorded by October, as it did throughout the world. Including around Australia.
A man walks along the shoreline of the Old Port.Credit: access point
“This part of the Atlantic is extremely warm right now, around 30 degrees Celsius, which is two to three degrees Celsius above normal,” Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, told The Associated Press.
“And it’s not just the surface. The deeper layers of the ocean are also unusually warm and provide a large reservoir of energy for storms.”
