‘Brown ocean’ effect may bedevil soggy Texas as storm nears
DALLAS (AP) — The historic rainfall that inundated Texas in May continues to leave the soil saturated and rivers engorged, but a scientist involved in a NASA-funded research project says it also could strengthen a storm moving inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
A broad area of low pressure that developed near the Yucatan Peninsula could brew nasty weather along the Texas and Louisiana coasts and inland. These low-pressure systems can become tropical storms that gather power from the warm waters of the ocean, and then weaken once they move over land.
But the research has found some storms can actually strengthen over land by drawing from the evaporation of abundant soil moisture, a phenomenon known as the “brown ocean” effect, according to Marshall Shepherd, director of atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia.
“All the things a hurricane likes over the ocean is what we have over land right now,” said Shepherd, one of the principals who conducted the research. SOURCE
So, I show this to my neighbor, the one that waters his yard 7 days a week, even when we were under severe water restrictions, and he says, “You don’t believe this crap do you?”
I guess over the next few days we’ll find out, here’s the latest forecast.
There is a “run off” (seasonal creek, dry gulch, wadi) that runs diagonally through the north side of our property out here in southern Kaufman county. For the last 3 1/2 years it has been basically dry except when it rains. We have flowing water through it every day now since early April.
And tell your neighbor to use as much water as he’s willing to pay for, but he’s not doing it any favors by watering it every day. The roots need to be strong enough to grow downward from the rhizome and they won’t do that so long as they can find shallow water. He can thank me later.
Keep your powder dry
Make sure your buckets are ready, buddy. Stay safe, and don’t float away … and, once y’all are finished playing in the water, send some our way!