Hurricane Dean's wake

[n2doc]

Figure 1. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) departure from normal for Sunday, August 26, 2007. Image credit: U.S. Navy.

Hurricane Dean's wake
Hurricane Dean's passage will be remembered not only by the people it affected, but by the ocean itself. A large, powerful storm like Dean generates a tremendous amount of mixing of the ocean, which brings up deep, cold water to the surface. Dean's passage cooled off the Gulf of Mexico waters near the Yucatan Peninsula by up to 3 degrees C (5.6 degrees F). The western Caribbean was not as strongly affected, since there is a much deeper layer of warm water there, thanks to the presence of the warm Loop Current. The cold water anomaly left by Dean will take several weeks to dissipate.


http://www.weatherunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=766&tstamp=200708

[liberal N proud]

1. If that all makes sense, then the gulf will less prone to a major hurricane

for a two or more weeks.
Is that how I should understand that?

[RL3AO]

2. Not really. That water will be back to normal by the time the next storm forms.

And it appears that a system in the Atlantic has a good chance.

The water was 1 degree above average, now its 1 degree below average in a small area.

[n2doc]

3. that region, certainly.

The colder water will provide less of a heat/energy source. But the northern and eastern Gulf are still available. And the Southern Carib is pretty much unaffected.