The South Atlantic hurricane ("Catarina") of March 2004.
Singer, Marc
A synoptic-dynamic analysis of the first-ever recorded (observed)
hurricane in the South Atlantic is performed using satellite information
and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction--National Center
for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) re-analyses. This event was a
strong category 1 hurricane and moved ashore near the Catarina region of
Brazil in late March 2004. There is some debate as to whether or not the
event was a hurricane. This analysis shows that the event possesses a
warm core and exists in a favorable environment for tropical development
in spite of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) that are cooler than
26[degrees]C. The regional SSTs were even cooler than normal March 2004
over the development region. Thus, the development will be shown to be
the result of more favorable atmospheric conditions, and this event is
shown to be more similar to early or late season hurricane events in the
North Atlantic. The event did grow out of an old frontal zone as will
also be demonstrated.
* Reagan, M. R., * A.D. Franklin, P.S. Market, and A.R. Lupo.
Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, University
of Missouri-Columbia.
