Chantal Has Met Her Match

Tropical Storm Chantal was the talk of the town in the Atlantic basin as this was the only active weather event in the tropics. However, Chantal's story has come to an abrupt ending. Despite some promise from Chantal, the structure of the storm has not been impressive over the past 24 hours. Even this evening, Chantal looks rather ragged.

Chantal has dropped from tropical status and now is a remnant low pressure center producing winds around 45mph with heavy rainfall. Not only have dynamics in the atmosphere contributed to the demise of this storm, but more importantly, topography.

When tropical cyclones (a fancier name for a tropical storm or hurricane) move over land, they tend to weaken quickly. Namely because they are locked off their fuel, warm ocean waters. Additionally, landmasses contribute a lot of friction where as the water does not have as much friction. More friction means quicker weakening.

What is interesting about Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) is that there is a range of Mountains that exceed 10,000 ft. Along the mid-section of the island, lies The Central Range, where the tallest peak, Pico Duarte sits at 10.128ft. This happens to be the tallest peak in the Antilles.

Not only does land itself add friction, but tall mountains add to the frictional effect. Therefore, when tropical cyclones move over Hispaniola or even the mountains in Cuba, significant weakening can occur. This is one of the key reasons why forecasting the track is crucial.

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