Caribbean Blob: July 26, Update A

Hmm… I’ve been watching this blob spend the last few days slowly moving westward, dumping rain on the northern islands of the Caribbean, and sampling the rum-based drinks along to be found along its path. Finally, today, it had some Cuban coffee and started sobering up and becoming organized. It has almost cleared Cuba and is in the north-western Caribbean, moving generally west-northwestward. Circulation has improved in the lower levels of the troposphere and convection is strong enough for thunderstorms. It is a bit too soon to tell, but it could go anywhere from westward across the Yucatan peninsula to west-northwestward(ish) through the Yucatan Strait and into the Gulf.

One reason I’m watching this blob carefully is that once it completely clears Cuba it will be over waters where the upper 125m are warmer than 26.5 deg C, which means it will have plenty of warm water even if it churns it up from depth. However, to counter this at the moment the wind shear is a little too strong for this system to cope with, so it may develop slowly. It’s still too early to say if this blob will need another cup of coffee or not.

The next named storm will be called Don. Now there’s a name that conjures up all sorts of associations! A synapse in my brain that hasn’t seen the light of day for a few years is the Indian movie called Don (made 1976), that I watched way back when four wheel cars were new on the market. It starred one of the biggest stars of ‘Bollywood’ at the time - Amitabh Bachchan. I see they re-made it in 2006 (I assume it’s a remake), with one of the most popular movie stars on the planet – Shahrukh Kahn. I might have to see if I can get my paws on that one just for a laugh. And of course, there’s the immortal Don Corleone from The Godfather <insert haunting Godfather music>.

I’ll let you know if this blob makes a move towards being the next Don!

Toodles for now!
J.

Blogs archived at http://jyotikastorms.blogspot.com/
Twitter @JyovianStorm

-------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:These remarks are just what I think/see regarding tropical storms - not the opinion of any organization I represent. If you are making an evacuation decision, please heed your local emergency management and the National Hurricane Center's official forecast and the National Weather Service announcements. This is not an official forecast. If I "run away, run away" (Monty Python), I'll let you know.
------------------------------------------