Strong monsoons in the Indian Ocean can induce easterly winds that push Atlantic Ocean hurricanes westward, increasing the likelihood they’ll make landfall in the Americas, according to new research.
A new study finds that in years where summer rainstorms in India are stronger, Atlantic hurricanes move further westward towards land. In years where the rains aren’t as strong, hurricanes tend to curve northward earlier and fizzle out in the north Atlantic Ocean.
This newly-discovered relationship could help scientists better predict the path of oncoming hurricanes, especially in late summer months like September, when Atlantic hurricane activity peaks, according to the study’s authors.
“What amazes me is how rainfall near India can drive important changes to Atlantic hurricanes half a world away,” said Patrick Kelly, an atmospheric researcher at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington and lead author of the new study in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. “This research is the first to draw the connection between Atlantic hurricanes and the Indian monsoon.”
Continue reading at American Geophysical Union
Image via Naval Research Laboratory, NOAA
