Dorian isn’t moving because the upper atmosphere is too calm
Posted September 2, 2019 5:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GRAND BAHAMA – Powerful Hurricane Dorian has been going nowhere because nothing high up is making it budge.
Usually, the upper atmosphere’s winds push and pull hurricanes north or west or at least somewhere. They’re so powerful that they dictate where these big storms go.
But meteorologists say the steering currents at 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) above ground have ground to a halt because high pressure and low-pressure systems are cancelling each other out. The steering currents aren’t moving, so neither is Dorian.
After reaching record-tying wind speeds on landfall in the Bahamas, the storm just stalled. Its eyewall first hit Grand Bahama Island Sunday night, and 18 hours later part of the eye still lingered there.
While it’s horrible for the Bahamas, meteorologists say it may help spare Florida a bit.
Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
