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Great news for Hawaii coming from hurricane trackers! One of the first hurricanes of the season, Hurricane Barbara, has been downgraded from a category 4 storm to a category 2 storm this past week.
Barbara is expected to dissipate before hitting the islands, though rain and wind are expected. Hurricane conditions are no longer a threat.
Hurricane Barbara was first spotted by weather monitors in early July, and initial reports were troubling. At its peak, the hurricane had sustained winds of about 155 miles per hour at the beginning of July.
To put the intensity in perspective, a category 5 hurricane has sustained winds of 156 miles per hour. This means that Barbara was basically one hurricane-sized sneeze away from classifying itself as the most intense hurricane.
Scientists think that Barbara is the most intense “B”-named hurricane in the eastern Pacific since 1971, which raises questions to just how bad this upcoming hurricane season may be.
Hurricane Barbara was tracking straight for the coast of Hawaii, and if she had picked up speed instead of slowing, it could have spelled disaster for the islands. This would have been the first hurricane of the season to hit Hawaii, who are no strangers to bad weather or high winds.
Luckily, Barba hit cooler water on her path just a few days ago. Instead of continuing to pick up pressure and winds, the cool patch slowed her down. This, along with strong west-to-southwest winds, tore apart her inner core and brought her down.
Barbara is still expected to hit Hawaii next week, but instead of a powerhouse of a hurricane, those on the coast should only expect moderate winds and some rain as she continues to slow.
NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center has predicted a worse-than-normal year for hurricanes, so don’t get too excited that Barbara got downgraded. The reason? It’s an El Nino year.
An El Nino year, in case you didn’t know, can often cause warm water much farther north than usual. This warm water feeds into storms and gives them power, instead of slowing them down. Warm ocean waters mean a tropical storm forms into a hurricane faster, and a category 1 or 2 is quicker moving and faster growing.
Vertical wind shears, which can help slow or halt hurricane development, are also expected to be less intense.
The only good thing? Scientists think the Atlantic will have an average or below-average hurricane season, based on water temperature and weather conditions so far.
