HOW COULD THE GULF OIL AFFECT HURRICANES

Image: A comparison of the size of 2008's Hurricane Gustav with the size of the Gulf oil spill. The spill is only about 60 miles in diameter, while a hurricane like Gustav is typically 400+ miles in diameter.

Written by: Brian Neudorff
As the oil continues to spill in the Gulf of Mexico many have asked what kind of impact this could have on the upcoming hurricane season and to storms that move into or form in the Gulf? That is a really tough question to answer because there's never been a situation like this and we're not 100% sure what will happen.

This week as I was reading over some of the weather blogs I frequently visit during the week I came across a post that Dr. Jeff Masters, co-founder of wunderground.com, did last Friday May, 7th on this exact issue. How oil might affect a hurricane

In his post, Dr. Jeff Masters talks about how oil reduces surface tension of the water and how this can influence wind speeds as it flows over the oil and how the lack of surface tension prevents waves from breaking. He also explores how the oil coating the surface of ocean limits evaporation of warm sea water needed by the tropical system to develop and strengthen. I really recommend clicking on the link above to his post, it is definitely worth the read.

In conclusion, Masters feels the current oil slick in the Gulf would have more of an impact on a tropical cyclone in its formative stage--as either a tropical depression or a tropical storm with 40 mph winds, than it would on a larger hurricane entering the Gulf of Mexico.

As you can see on the image attached to this post, right now the size of the oil slick is about the size of Delaware or 60 miles across and most destructive hurricanes that enter the Gulf are Texas size. The oil is about 50 miles offshore by the time a hurricane reached the oil friction associated with land would already be having an impact on the storm and its strength.

Dr. Jeff Masters - How oil might affect a hurricane