First, today is the 40th Anniversary of the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, killing 241 US servicemen (link to Marine Times article). It is a part of the sad legacy of the US in the region, and in one sense a minor footnote in the bloody history of Lebanon and the Middle East, although the impact on individuals who served there obviously was life changing – or ending. They should not be forgotten.
Lots of storms today although given the anniversary, and the horrible geopolitical situation it’s hard to care – as usual, humans are far better at killing each other off and creating misery than nature even at its worst. But here is a brief overview …
Hurricane Tammy looks to do a big half-loop in the Atlantic, but should become extratropical and/or break up. If the track trends south as some models indicate it may persist longer. NHC is sort of splitting the difference, GFS trending more east, regional models like the new HFS suite more south and west, so I wouldn’t be surprised at some wide track swings in the next day or so. Time will tell …
Mexico continues to get hit – Hurricane Norma is raining out over Northern Mexico, while tropical storm Otis is headed to Acapulco and may cause disruptions and damage later this week …
The Indian Ocean is also active, with Cyclone Tej making landfall in Yemen, and Tropical Depression Five (which may be a tropical storm by now) in the Bay of Bengal. Fortunately Five should break up before landfall in this extremely vulnerable part of the world …
Finally, Cyclone Lola is a powerful storm due to make landfall on Vanuatu Tuesday/Wednesday …
Thanks for sharing the article and for all you do to keep us informed.