Hurricane Season and Global Lightning

l Nino is weakening fast in the central Pacific.  As the sea surface temperatures slowly drop into the Summer, the trade winds will relax enough to allow tropical systems to develop much easier than last year.  Neutral conditions will stay steady through Hurricane Season.  Expect this season to be very active.

Back in 2005, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita ballooned into monster storms in the Gulf of Mexico due to increased water temperatures driven by a current of warm water that travels between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula.  This is called The Loop Current.

If a tropical storm develops over this current, it can build and strengthen extremely fast. The loop current could play a pivotal role in hurricane development this season in the gulf and subsequent landfalls.

A snapshot of the Global Lightning over the last 5 days shows activity along the equator heating up.  Notice the widespread lightning over the US during the recent severe weather outbreak last weekend.