ORLANDO, Fla. – Finally, beneficial rain has arrived across Central Florida. Tropical moisture was funneled on the eastern side of an developing low pressure that brought the needed rain.
An area of tropical moisture moved from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexico then surged into Central Florida, bringing significant rainfall beginning on Tuesday.
This broad low was born from the Central American Gyre.
The Central American Gyre is a large-scale oceanic circulation pattern that forms in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s characterized by a circular motion of water, driven by a combination of factors, including wind patterns, ocean currents and the Earth’s rotation.
Because of its location, the circulation is labeled as the Central American Gyre and typically happens during the rainy season, spanning from May to November.
Tropical storms often form within or near the Central American Gyre due to the warm sea-surface temperatures and high humidity, which provide the necessary energy and moisture for their development.
As disturbances move across the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico, they can organize and strengthen into tropical depressions, eventually evolving into tropical storms and potentially hurricanes.
Here’s a breakdown of how tropical storms form within the Central American Gyre:
- Warm sea-surface temperatures: The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are known for their warm waters, especially during the summer months. These warm sea surface temperatures (typically above 26.5°C or 80°F) provide the primary energy source for tropical storm formation.
- Moisture and instability: In addition to warm waters, tropical storms require high levels of moisture and atmospheric instability to form. The warm, moist air near the surface of the ocean rises rapidly, creating an area of low pressure.
- Coriolis effect: The Earth’s rotation causes the air masses to spin in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. This phenomenon, known as the Coriolis effect, is crucial for the development of the storm’s rotation or spin.
- Formation of a disturbance: Various atmospheric disturbances, such as tropical waves or clusters of thunderstorms, serve as the initial seeds for tropical storm formation within the Central American Gyre. These disturbances often originate from the African continent and move westward across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Organization and development: As the disturbance moves over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico, it begins to organize and strengthen. The combination of low pressure, warm sea surface temperatures, and atmospheric moisture fuels the intensification process.
- Formation of a tropical depression: When the disturbance reaches a certain level of organization and sustained wind speeds reach at least 39 mph (63 km/h), it is classified as a tropical depression.
- Tropical storm formation: If the tropical depression continues to strengthen and reaches sustained wind speeds of 39-73 mph (63-118 km/h), it is upgraded to a tropical storm. At this stage, the storm is given a name from a predetermined list.
- Further intensification: Under favorable environmental conditions, including warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear (the change in wind speed and direction with height), the tropical storm may continue to intensify, potentially reaching hurricane strength with wind speeds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or higher.
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