08-04-2014, 05:38 PM
Steve1,
"Looking at the water vapor map that Carrie posted it appears that Julio is advancing on Iselle, and I was wondering what the possibility is of Julio catching up and the two storms uniting as one. Would that then create a superstorm? Anyone have any ideas, and I prefer scientific observations and facts over anecdotal evidence or a faith based belief system."
I think that is a fascinating question, but my uneducated guess is that they won't merge, the reason being that they are following almost identical tracks and will have similar influences on their westward movement, and being so close together, those influences won't change very much.
Following on from that, if they did merge, then my first thought is that they would disrupt each other. Because they are both rotating in the same direction, the western most part of Julio would first interact with the eastern part of Iselle. That would mean Julio's winds would be in the complete opposite direction to Iselle's (Julio's winds would be from the north, Iselle's from the south). My guess, and it is just that, is that it would disrupt both systems. However, you are also combining a lot of heat energy in a relatively small place, hence my hedging.
It's a very interesting question. I think it's hypothetical and won't happen and I'm not aware of two tropical systems ever merging. Having said that, if you are interested, I do know one or two research meteorologists in Hawaii who might be able to provide an answer, although I have to say I suspect they are rather busy right now.
Let me know if you want me to drop them a line.
"Looking at the water vapor map that Carrie posted it appears that Julio is advancing on Iselle, and I was wondering what the possibility is of Julio catching up and the two storms uniting as one. Would that then create a superstorm? Anyone have any ideas, and I prefer scientific observations and facts over anecdotal evidence or a faith based belief system."
I think that is a fascinating question, but my uneducated guess is that they won't merge, the reason being that they are following almost identical tracks and will have similar influences on their westward movement, and being so close together, those influences won't change very much.
Following on from that, if they did merge, then my first thought is that they would disrupt each other. Because they are both rotating in the same direction, the western most part of Julio would first interact with the eastern part of Iselle. That would mean Julio's winds would be in the complete opposite direction to Iselle's (Julio's winds would be from the north, Iselle's from the south). My guess, and it is just that, is that it would disrupt both systems. However, you are also combining a lot of heat energy in a relatively small place, hence my hedging.
It's a very interesting question. I think it's hypothetical and won't happen and I'm not aware of two tropical systems ever merging. Having said that, if you are interested, I do know one or two research meteorologists in Hawaii who might be able to provide an answer, although I have to say I suspect they are rather busy right now.
Let me know if you want me to drop them a line.