Dear Tom,
Why did this year’s few hurricanes move harmlessly north through the Atlantic instead of hitting the U.S?
William Ooms Jr. Alsip, Ill.
Dear William,
To date, the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season has fallen far short of its advanced billing for being very active. The primary factor behind this season’s lack of storms appears to lie with a persistent increase of wind with height over the Atlantic Basin, known as wind shear. High wind shear values tear apart the storms’ cumulonimbus towers hampering further intensification and development. An evolving El Nino, currently warming the equatorial Pacific waters, may be responsible for the increased shear. The storms that did form moved clockwise around the periphery of the Bermuda high which remained anchored well to the east over the Atlantic much of this season causing the storms to miss the U.S.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
