Hurricane season approaching

WEATHER TIDBITS

Another Greenbelt soaker arrived early Saturday dropping abut 2/3 of

an inch of moisture fattening our season total to 16 to 17 inches

depending on where you live in Laguna.

It’s the wettest May since 1998 (2.14 inches), before that, 1963

(1.71 inches).

It’s our wettest season since the historic 1997-98 season.

2002-03 -- so far 16 inches plus

2001-02 -- 4.42 inches

2000-01 -- 15.14 inches

1999-00 -- 11.57 inches

1998-99 -- 9.11 inches

1997-98 -- 37.27 inches

1996-97 -- 15.38 inches

1995-96 -- 11.68 inches

1994-95 -- 24.05 inches

1993-94 -- 11.14 inches

1992-93 -- 27.36 inches

1991-92 -- 21.00 inches

So eight of our last 12 seasons have been above normal. May

averages only 2/10 of an inch.

Our water temps are inching back toward the 60-degree mark.

Thalia Reef is going off at 3:15 p.m. here on Monday. A severe

angle 305 degree northwest wind swell at 3 to 4 feet is perfect for

Thalia’s “corner pockets.” It’s glassing off -- this mornings surface

morning sick.

Cinco de Mayo:

Salida del sol -- 6:01 a.m.

Puesta del sol -- 7:37 p.m.

Just around the corner -- hurricane season. Thunderstorms are

getting ready to rumble off Southern Mexico and the tropics will come

alive.

With greatly increased daytime heating coupled with a high arc in

the sun’s path toward the zenith, all that warm air rises and rises

and rises sometimes upward of 55,000 feet.

These super cells form a cluster and that area of low barometric

pressure begins to rotate counter clockwise forming a tropical

depression (winds less than 35 mph).

If the ingredients are right, 80-degree surface ocean temperature

at least, it will grow.

It will grow quicker when there are little or no upper atmospheric

sheer winds to blow off or “sheer” off the tops of the cumulonimbus.

If there’s good forward motion (at least 6 mph), it’s likely the

spinner will graduate to tropical storm while usually trekking west

to northwest down there around 15 degrees north latitude.

Then the feisty pinwheeler hits a pocket of 88-degree water about

600 to 700 miles due south (180 degrees) of Costa Azul, San Jose del

Cabo. Then the named storm rapidly grows in size and strength. Gale

force winds extend over 275 miles from the “eye,” which is only 14

miles wide! This is a tightly wound monster category five with

sustained winds of 156 mph with gusts to 185.

It is hurricane Guillermo from July 29 to Aug. 21, 1997. We got a

double overhead swell for a week from the south to south/southeast

(165-180 degrees) and two weeks later got a head high three-day

northwest pulse when Bill went extra tropical off Oregon.

* DENNIS McTIGHE is a Laguna Beach resident. He earned a

bachelor’s in earth sciences from UCSD and was a U.S. Air Force

weather forecaster at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii.