rellosk said:
Looking at the track, Hurricane Wilma and Tropical Storm Alpha are both projected to be east of NJ on Tuesday. I realize that neither are projected to be anywhere near land, but I was curious:
- Have there ever been two major storms in the same area at the same time?
- How does one storm effect the other. Does the winds from the stronger storm influence the direction of the weaker storm?
Alpha is not a major storm. In the big picture of things, it is minor and we are reporting here just because it is very topical to the DR. The second question is an issue that there is much talk about on the tropical weather blogs and boards at the moment. There is no general answer. The movie "The Perfect Storm" gave quite a good explanation of how these systems can interact. Perhaps PJT or Ken could comment on this as well.
I am not sure I understand fully the forces involved as weather is complex. For myself, unless I plot all the relevant systems on a weather chart and look at each one of them in relation to the other, strenght, movement, conditions, sea conditions, depth of system, high or low, I cannot say what is what.
Here is the explanation about Alpha specifically, from the folks of the National Hurricane Center. "WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES THE STORM IS JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF A LOW- TO MID-LAYER RIDGE. ALPHA IS FORECAST TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD FOR THE NEXT 12-24 HOURS AROUND THE ANTICYCLONE TO THE NORTHEAST...THEN RECURVE TO THE NORTH AND EVENTUALLY NORTHEAST AHEAD OF WILMA AND
THE LARGE DEEP-LAYER BAROCLINIC TROUGH FORMING OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. THE OFFICIAL TRACK FORECAST HAS ALPHA BEING ABSORBED BY THE TROUGH IN 96 HOURS IF NOT SOONER."
