How to check air quality after Canadian wildfires
As concerns grow over smoke from Canada’s wildfires, USA TODAY’s Julia Gomez explains how to read the Air Quality Index (AQI).
A tropical storm formed along the Gulf Coast off the coast of Florida as the area of low pressure became more defined and thunderstorms and rain increased, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Hurricane Center announced on its website on July 19 that a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Florida Panhandle region through Monday night.
According to the USA TODAY Network’s Naples Daily News, the low-pressure system could become a tropical storm, but forecasters said it was unlikely to become a hurricane due to Saharan dust and strong wind shear. If it becomes a tropical storm, it would be called Vata, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. (Tropical Storm Arthur in June was the first named storm of the season.)
The National Hurricane Center advised that communities along the Gulf Coast, including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, should monitor the system as it is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain.
What is the difference between a tropical cyclone and a tropical cyclone?
According to NASA, a tropical cyclone is a low pressure system that is accompanied by thunderstorms and produces a circular wind flow with maximum sustained wind speeds of less than 39 miles per hour. When the circulating winds become more organized and increase to gusts of 59 to 113 mph, the cyclone becomes a tropical cyclone.
Is it a La Niña phenomenon?
A rare “Atlantic Niña” weather pattern has emerged in the tropics in recent weeks amid a strong Super El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, according to the Severe Weather Europe website.
Climate.gov describes the Atlantic Niña phenomenon as a decrease in sea surface temperatures near the equator of the Atlantic Ocean that can change rain and wind patterns across the tropics, potentially affecting Atlantic hurricane activity. Its effects are generally weaker and more localized than La Niña in the Pacific.
According to a report on the Severe Weather Europe website, “A rare ‘Atlantic Niña’ has emerged in the tropics just as a strong Super El Niño continues to develop in the Pacific Ocean. These two ocean anomalies may look opposite on a map, but their atmospheric influences are pushing in the same direction, creating an atmospheric shield for the U.S. hurricane season.”
Contributor: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
