Comments on: The Atlantic Hurricane Season So Far

By: Mark Granato

Mark Granato — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:16:37 +0000

Author F. Mark Granato
Of Winds and Rage
A Story of two storms — One Human, one Weather

75 years ago on September 21, the Great 1938 Hurricane that ambushed the East Coast from Long Island to Maine, remains the worst weather-related disaster in New England recorded weather history. A Category 3 storm, it smashed into Long Island at noon — the only warning, a monstrous tidal wave that ultimately swept most of the New England Coast. The storm moved so fast that one state had no time to warn the next as it advanced through new New england at 70 miles per hour — still the fastest moving hurricane in US history. Nearly 700 people died and damages (in current dollars) were in the billions. By comparison, 2012’s “Sandy” was a tropical storm that was discovered and forewarned days in advance. Toss in a a truly terrifying serial killer from the Wethersfield State Prison who chose the wrong time to escape and wealthy vacationers on Napatree Point in Westerly, Rhode Island and you have the makings of a novel that will keep you up nights! Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, i-Books and any other e-format as well as in paperback.

By: Doug Alder

Doug Alder — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 06:15:43 +0000

Well I did say “a bit” 🙂 but you’re right. It’s too transient to have any significant impact on the ocean’s surface temperature – for one thing that’s a lot of mass to increase/decrease temperatures in and that would take significant time to noticeably affect to any depth

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 01:45:33 +0000

I know, but the timing and scale is different. A few weeks of dust in the lower atmosphere (where this dust is) just makes for some warm dust, with some reflection but not much. Meanwhile SST’s are higher than ever and this is not likely to cool them much, if at all. I think the dampening effect is mostly in stuff that happens in the atmosphere.

If, on the other hand, the Sahara starts to do this a lot more that could have a larger effect.

By: Doug Alder

Doug Alder — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 23:30:42 +0000

I would think that a significant dust storm would cool the ocean surface a bit by reflecting energy back into space – fewer Watts hitting the surface means cooler water and less chance of a tropical storm/hurricane developing.