Miami is affected by a mT air mass. It's Koppen classification would be Am (tropical monsoon climate). A maritime tropical air mass and the resulting climate are characterized, as are most sub-tropical/tropical regions, as being split into wet and dry seasons. Which in Miami’s case, the dry season lasts from Mid-October to May and the wet season from May to Mid-October.[i]
ITCZ has large effects on the tropics, most notably the reason for the wet and dry seasons found in Miami and the rest of the tropics and equatorial regions. The ITCZ passes north during the Northern Hemisphere’s late Spring, Summer, and early Fall months. Nearly 40 inches of Miami’s yearly 55.9 inches of precipitation comes from mid-may to October.
Although the ITCZ generally stays between 5N and 5S it can move as far as The location of the ITCZ can vary as much as 40° to 45° of latitude north or south of the equator based on the pattern of land and ocean, well into Miami.[iii]
Unique Factors
In addition to the ITZC the Gulf Stream plays an even larger effect on the climate of Miami. The Gulf Stream begins right of the coast of Southern Florida, known locally as the Florida Current. This has a large effect on maintaining the moderate, warm temperatures Miami experiences year round as eastern winds blow the warm air from the Gulf Current inland. [iv]
Due to the intense solar radiation during the wet season and because of warm ocean currents, Miami has many frequent, severe convectional thunderstorms during the summer, typically in the late afternoon. Furthermore, because of its location between the warm Gulf Coastal waters and the Atlantic Ocean, Miami is statistically the most like major city in the world to be hit by a hurricane[v].
Although, Tornado’s are usually more frequent to Central Florida, Miami has had recorded Tornado’s and waterspouts, mostly due to the fact of the severe thunderstorms the region experiences as well as frequent tropical cyclones. This is a photo from the “Great Miami Tornado of 1997”. Although a weak F1 tornado, causing little damage and no fatalities, it garnered worldwide media attention due to its proximity to Downtown Miami’s skyline.
Sources
[i] [i] "Miami." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012.
[ii] . "The Intertropical Convergence Zone." earthobservatory.nasa.gov. earthobservatory.nasa.gov, 12 July 2000. Web. 5 Apr 2012. <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=703>.
[iii] Rosenburg, Matt. "The Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ Brings Convectional Precipitation." About.com. About, 2012. Web. 5 Apr 2012. <http://geography.about.com/od/climate/a/itcz.htm>.
[iv] National Climatic Data Center. Climatic Wind Data for the United States. Retrieved on 2007-06-02. Archived June 13, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
[v] Tidwell, Mike (2006). The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities. Free Press.
[vi] "Storm Picture." How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works, July 2011. Web. 5 Apr 2012. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/storm-pictures6.htm>.
No comments:
Post a Comment