The hurricane season ended Saturday in the Caribbean, after registering only two devastating weather events, though the forecast model has foreseen at least nine during the period since June 1.
Cuban forecasts predicted 17 tropical storms, including 9 possible hurricanes, while the Climate Prediction Center attached to the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipated 13 to 20 tropical storms, including 7 to 11 hurricanes.
Of the 12 registered tropical storms, only two, Humberto and Ingrid, became hurricanes, but they did not exceed the category one on the five-degree Saffir-Simpson scale, and had a very short life.
Cuban meteorologist Ramon Perez from the Climate Center attached to the National Meteorology Institute, said that this unusual behavior should be investigated because it seemed to be associated with the presence of a wind shear, predominant in a large part of the Caribbean and preventing the concentration of necessary power at altitude for the formation and strengthening of tropical cyclones.
Previous studies revealed that a hurricane can weaken or vanish on the sea due to the existence of strong superior winds, as well as the great difference in direction and speed among the winds at different levels.
According to historical records, the concluding season registered the fewest number of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin since 1982.
At the same time, this is the first season finishing without the genesis of a hurricane of intense magnitude in the past 18 years, contrasting with 2, 7 and 10 events registered in seasons 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy swept eastern Cuba, causing 11 death and huge economic loss. Then it climbed in latitude to mix with a winter storm in North America and produced a catastrophe in New York.
Another Cuban specialist highlighted as another factor the notable presence of Saharan dust during the months of July, August and September in the region of tropical Atlantic, the area of greatest hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin.
Eugenio Mojena, of the Satellite Section at Meteorology Institute, estimated that these dusty clouds created an extremely hostile environment for the occurrence of cyclones.
Mojena said these warm air masses with minimum values of relative humidity provided a very dry air, capable of inhibiting the generation of cyclones and weakening the already emerged.
The phenomenon originated from the largest desert in the world, is normal in the months of June, July and first half of August, when the clouds carry particles traveling at an altitude of more than three kilometers over the Atlantic, moved by trade winds.
After traveling thousands of kilometers each year, millions of tons of dust from the Sahara desert reaches the Caribbean, bringing a very dry air to the region.
