A rare weather phenomenon could leave the flood-ravaged southeast under water again as two huge storm systems get closer to converging.
Hurricane expert Chad Merrill told the Daily Mail that he fears Hurricane Humberto, a cyclone currently swirling over the north of the Caribbean, could soon collide with a brewing tropical storm near the same waters, named Imelda.
The combined forces could trigger a terrifying result known as the Fujiwhara Effect, where tropical storms join forces in what meteorologists call a ‘dance’ as they twist around each other and become even more destructive.
Merrill, who is a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather and has spent 22 years covering hurricanes throughout the mid-Atlantic, said that the effect should set off alarm bells in areas that have already been devastated by hurricanes in the past.
Imelda will potentially make landfall in the Carolinas, where Hurricane Helene brought severe destruction last year, killing 252 people.
‘In the Atlantic, we’re seeing some increasing signs that a track of low pressure and tropical rainstorms are in close proximity, forming close to Florida,’ he warned.
‘The heaviest flux of moisture would be into the Carolinas.’
Merrill warned those in the storm’s path from the east coast of Florida up through the Carolinas must be prepared to ‘move to higher ground and make sure to have an evacuation plan, and know what to do when a flash flood warning is issued.’
He said the Fujiwhara Effect typically sees a stronger storm pull in a weaker storm, which could see Humberto become a larger storm over the Caribbean while causing Imelda to be ‘flung towards the East.’
The hurricane expert cautioned those in the storms’ path that Imelda is showing disturbing likenesses to Hurricane Helene last year, which caused almost $80 billion in damage throughout the southeast, much of it to areas previously believed to be largely safe from the effects of extreme weather.
A rare weather phenomenon could soon wreak havoc on large swathes of the southeast if two huge storm systems, Hurricane Humberto (pictured) and the likely emergence of Hurricane Imelda, collide
Forecasters warned that the tropical storm systems are showing ‘similar signs’ to Hurricane Helene last year, which brought widespread devastation on a similar path from Florida up to the Carolinas. Horseshoe Beach in Florida is pictured in the wake of Helene
Hurricane Humberto, a cyclone currently swirling over the north of the Caribbean, could soon combine with a brewing tropical storm near the same waters, named Imelda, to create a rare weather phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara Effect
Updated forecasts now show Humberto will reach major hurricane status by Saturday afternoon, quickly building into a Category 3 storm with winds exceeding 110 mph.
Merrill said that unlike some high-strength storm systems that tear apart homes and bring widespread destruction through gale-force winds and twisters, Imelda’s ‘legacy will be flooding.’
He said victims can expect ‘heavy rain and severe flooding’, and warned that the storm system is showing signs of a weather phenomenon known as a predecessor reign, ‘which did happen with Helene a year ago.’
‘It’s when you get the approach of an upper-level trough ahead of a hurricane, and it pulls that moisture north,’ he said.
Hurricane expert Chad Merrill told the Daily Mail that he fears the Fujiwhara Effect could cause the storm systems to slam into the East Coast
‘So you get some really high precipitable water content, which is basically very juicy air that gets drawn up into the separate level trough well ahead of the storm.
‘We’re seeing an influx of moisture from the Atlantic, in a very prime spot for what’s called upslope rain to develop in the eastern flank of the Appalachian Mountains.’
The threat of severe flooding will loom large in the minds of those in the storms’ path, with Helene leaving tens of thousands homeless as it tore apart the Carolinas last spring.
Over the Fourth of July weekend this summer, the chaos flash flooding can bring was again thrust into national focus with at least 80 people were killed in Kerr County, Texas – including dozens of children at a children’s summer camp.
Last year, Hurricane Helene killed over 250 people and caused almost $80 billion in damage throughout the southeast as it tore through the region
Over the Fourth of July weekend this summer, the chaos flash flooding can bring was again thrust into national focus as at least 80 people were killed in Kerr County, Texas – including dozens of children at a kid’s summer camp
A spaghetti forecast map of Imelda, which is expected to make landfall in the southeastern US next week
He said there will likely be a ‘bullseye’ of heavier rain, which will strike on the ‘eastern flank of the Appalachians in South Carolina and North Carolina…. So we’re not just dealing with coastal flooding.’
For those in the storm’s path from the east coast of Florida up through the Carolinas, the forecaster cautioned that ‘the biggest thing to be prepared for would be the widespread flooding threat.’
‘Move to higher ground and make sure to have an evacuation plan, and know what to do when a flash flood warning is issued.’
He said that those on the southern coast of Florida will certainly see the effects of the heavy weather patterns, but they will likely be limited to winds, high waves, and ‘typical tropical storm-type damage.’
‘But there’ll probably be, you know, a good bit of flooding, coastal flooding,’ he added.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .