Hours after intense winds and rain began to hit Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Tropical Storm Bonnie became the second named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season on Friday, bringing the risk of flash flooding. and life-threatening mudslides.
A storm was named after it reached wind speeds of at least 39 mph, but days before Bonnie reached that point, it brought heavy rain and weather warnings for the Caribbean.
By Friday, the storm had strengthened slightly and moved into the southwestern Caribbean. The Nicaragua-Costa Rica border to Laguna de Perlas, Nicaragua, is under storm watch and the storm is expected to move through the area on Saturday.
While the system is forecast to weaken as it passes through Central America, it is expected to strengthen as it reaches warmer waters in the eastern Pacific on Saturday. Forecasters are monitoring two other storms in the Atlantic, including one that is expected to bring heavy rain this weekend to the US Gulf Coast, where flood warning in effect in Texas and Louisiana. The other, much farther east, is expected to slowly follow Bonnie’s path to Central America over the weekend.
Tropical Storm Alexformed on June 5, the first named storm among those forecast to be an “above normal” hurricane season. according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If that prediction turns out to be true, 2022 will be the seventh consecutive year of an above-normal season.
This year, meteorologists predict the season, which runs through November 30, will produce 14 to 21 named storms. Six to 10 of those are forecast to become hurricanes, and up to six of them are forecast to strengthen into major hurricanes, classified as Category 3 hurricanes with winds of at least 111 mph.
Last year, there were 21 named storms, following 30 records in 2020. Over the past two years, meteorologists have exhausted the list of names used to identify hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season, another one-off event, in 2005.
The link between hurricanes and climate change is getting clearer every year. The data show that The storm has become stronger all over the world during the past four decades. A warming planet can expect stronger storms over time and a higher incidence of the strongest storms – although the total number of hurricanes could be reduced, because of factors such as shear strength. Stronger winds can prevent weaker storms from forming.
Hurricanes also become wetter due to more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere; Scientists have suggested storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017 produces much more precipitation than would otherwise be possible for the human impact on the climate. In addition, rising sea levels also contribute to higher tides – the most destructive factor of tropical cyclones.
