The link between Hurricane Milton and climate change and the phenomenon expected this summer in

Hurricanes like Milton – which reached category 5 twice before making landfall in Florida as a category 3 – have a close link with the climate changeas explained in dialogue with Clarion the meteorologist and environmental graduate Marcelo Madelón.

This anomaly, which produces the global warmingwill also have a correlation next summer in , with temperatures that will be higher than usual. However, a particular phenomenon will act as a defense to, probably, avoid suffering another violent climatic formsuch as the severe storms and tornadoes that hit the City and the province of Buenos Aires last summer.

As you know, neither Argentina nor South America They are a hurricane area. Yes, on the other hand, extreme storms and tornadoes have been unleashed more and more frequently. However, the upcoming summer season in the country seems to indicate that will differentiate of the previous one.

Madelón explained to Clarion that “phenomena like Hurricane Milton are associated with climate change because They form in hot wateroutside the equatorial zone. That is, about ten degrees of latitude from the equator, since in the equatorial zone the winds cannot rotate.”

¿Y what has to happen in the sea for a hurricane to form? “The water has to have at least 27 degrees temperature, because that hot sea gives a lot of vapor to the atmosphere and forms serious storms. If there is not that amount of energy, a hurricane cannot form,” added the expert.

A woman holds an umbrella as she arrives at a shelter to protect herself from Hurricane Milton, in Lakeland. Photo: Reuters

¿Y why is it related to these hurricanes with global warming? “Because on this occasion the sea rose 29.5 degrees. And I’m talking about the high seas, not the coasts, where the water is usually warmer due to the shallow depth. That temperature would be one degree higher than normal for this time of year,” warned Madelón.

For this reason – the temperature of the sea – tornadoes have almost no chance of existing in the southern geography. Madelón recalled the only hurricane recorded in Brazil, Catarina, exactly 20 years ago off the coast of – hence its name – the state of Santa Catarina. “It was a great exception”he recalled.

But what about climate change in relation to tornadoes on local lands? “Surely it makes tornadoes are more virulent. But to have severe storms we have to have humidity. And this year the trend is not telling us that we are going to have more humidity. Yes, more heat, but without humidity there are no severe storms. And no severe storms there are no tornadoes”, added Madelón.

If global warming continues, could hurricanes in the southern hemisphere? “Under current conditions that could not happen, but if the warming trend continues we could observe hurricanes with greater frequency in the central and northern area of ​​Brazil. In Argentina it would be almost impossible, because in the middle of summer the water temperature on the Atlantic coast beaches is 18 degrees,” he concluded.

The difference between a hurricane and a tornado

The National Meteorological Service came out to clarify in the last few hours that “hurricanes and tornadoes are two phenomena that are often confused, perhaps because both are subject to strong winds and rotating movements. However, they are very different from each other.”

A man records Hurricane Milton making landfall in Sarasota. Photo: Reuters

In an educational video, they explained that “hurricanes, also called typhoons or tropical cyclonesare formed by several storms organized around a low pressure center.”

The high temperature of the sea in the area near the Equator “works like combustible for hurricanes, which is why when they make landfall they begin to weaken and dissipate,” they added.

Tornadoes, on the other hand, “occur in mid-latitudes, where warm and cold air masses constantly interact. This favors the formation of severe storms, such as superceldaswhich are characterized by columns of air that rotate and ascend”.

Another important difference is the size: “Hurricanes can have a diameter of up to hundreds of kilometerswith a central zone of very low pressure known as ‘the eye’, which can reach a width of up to 50 kilometers.” On the other hand, tornadoes – they say – “are extreme phenomena but smaller in size, from a few meters to a few kilometers.”

The formation of a hurricane usually lasts several days, so it is easier to follow the evolution through a satellite image. Tornadoes, on the other hand, can be born, develop and die in minutes, and cannot be observed from the satellite. Proof of its existence basically depends on live experience and the human eye.

The final distinction between hurricane and tornado is the wind speed“with a range of 120 to 250 kilometers per hour for hurricanes, while in tornadoes they can exceed 300. Several Argentine provinces are part of the so-called ‘ring of tornadoes’”, where the collision of different air masses occurs.

-

PREV Koch spoke about the tractor that they asked him to return, that Bordet “never” attended to it and his chances of joining Frigerio’s management – News
NEXT Jorge Macri announced that the City will host the summit of Ibero-American mayors