At the start of this week (September 12, 2022) Hurricane Earl shot a pulse of proper hurricane swell to the UK. It’s usually quite rare for our neck of the woods to get a proper hurricane swell. Normally these Tropical born storms turn into deep low pressures instead. Earl was slightly different. And whilst the waves weren’t significant in height the periodicity of the swell was. A whole bunch of locations lit up, if you knew where to go as it required specific bathymetry to break properly. Off the back of Earl Tropical Storm Fiona has now formed. So what’re the predictions with her?
Warnings issued.
Tropical Storm Fiona – whilst not a full blown hurricane – has a trajectory that means it’s on track to clip some of the Caribbean Leeward Islands that aren’t within the hurricane belt. Antigua for instance, is likely to see strong winds and big waves.
Fiona is then set to threaten the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. It’s almost five years to the day that Hurricane Maria devastated the island. With sustained winds of 60mph and stronger gusts Fiona’s no joke. Tropical storm warnings cover Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, and St. Martin.
The 2022 hurricane season so far.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can be deadly and wreak havoc on locations such as those mentioned. Whilst they are a way of life the impacts of these storms are no less serious. NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are still favouring an above normal hurricane season. But have slightly decreased the likelihood to 60%.
NOAA are urging caution and suggesting vigilance is still needed as hurricane season is far from over. Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona are testament to this. We wish everyone well and hope that Fiona’s force doesn’t cause too much upset.
Silver linings.
One silver lining with this storm activity is surf. Such deep low pressure systems can send solid pulses of long period waves to many different breaks. Of course, nobody wishes this type of weather on anyone. And we certainly feel for those affected. But hurricane swells are highly anticipated by surfers none the less.
In the UK, as already stated, proper hurricane swells are rare. Instead, we rely on those tightly squeezed isobars born of remnant depressions. These can still be the bringer of good waves. It may be, however, surfers have to seek shelter as often these swells are accompanied by wind.
It’s not yet clear where Fiona will be headed. Often storms track NE well before they reach our shores. It could be, however, that elements combine to drive Fiona directly at us. We’ll just have to wait and see. Whatever the outcome we hope good waves are the only thing Tropical Storm Fiona delivers.
Check out more about Tropical Storm Fiona here.
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