Got our first SAL

[bubba]

South East Florida received it's first SAL today. What is a SAL? We are lucky not to have to deal with air pollution as a result of constant winds and the lack of mountains to trap stagnant air. A SAL is a Saharian Air Layer, which gives a hazy appearance to the air. This is not unusual at this time of year. It signals the first movement of air from the African continent and foreshadows that bombastic phenomenon greatly feared in this area known as "Cape Verde"! Fasten your seat belts!

[Alicehunter2000]

So are you saying....hurricane season has really started now?

[bubba]

David, SAL is just the first puff rolling from the East that sends some of that Sahara sand our way. Summer down here means winds that predominate from the East. I do not believe SAL is necessarily a vector that predicts heavy Hurrcun activity but simply a regular and annual phenomenon.

"Cape Verde" for our area rolls from August 15 to September 15. Noted exceptions September 16,1926 and September 16, 1928 duly observed. Cape Verde's are natures nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles(See Andrew). Thereafter, you deal in this area with the Sidewinders that roll from deep in the Carribean and usually travel from the West to East across the State(See Wilma). They generally lack the firepower of the CV.

Cape Verde's can prowl the lower islands through October and November. Notable examples include 5 CV's in October of 1780. These 5 CV's proved opportune for the development of the U.S. The British had not quite thrown in the towel. They maintained an extremely large naval presence in the lower islands and were contemplating a surprise renewal. Virtually the entire British Navy was eliminated by these CV's. The last of the 5 hit the Barbados, where the largest contingent of the British Navy was located. The severity of this storm was of historical proportions. The entire island was defoliated, all ships destroyed and amazingly an earthquake hit the island in the middle of the storm. After the storm, the British Admiral exited the underground cave that allowed his survival. The Admiral is said to have sent a message to the King stating that the renewal of hostilities must have been contrary to God's plan.

[Alicehunter2000]

Interesting, so downstate gets a predominately eastern flow during this time but not neccessisarily the rest of the year? I get so caught up with cold fronts and summer coastal thunderstorm weather patterns that this phenomenon doesn't register other than when a big storm gets flung into the gulf. Does the intensity of CV start to peter out as it gets closer to the US....is that why most storms go up the east coast and never reach the Gulf ... (storms that originate off of Africa)