BP... meet Invest 93L

The satellite picture is that of a tropical wave which is showing serious signs of developing over the next 48 hours. At the moment it is designated as Invest (investigate) which means it is getting a good looking over with some extra resources.

What makes this particular tropical wave so interesting? Location, location, location. It may not look very organized at the moment but...




The wind shear is minimal and




the water is extremely warm.
NOAA is giving this tropical wave a 50% chance of developing into a tropical depression. That's a pretty solid forecast. The only thing that might inhibit development is that it is currently tracking West-Northwest at 25 knots and may encounter increased wind shear before it has a chance organize.

If it does develop, take a look at the sea surface temperature chart above. All that lovely warm water will feed it.

As always, click on any image to enlarge.

Friday 25 June: Updated information here.

Are you followin' me camera guy?

A reddit contributor asks an interesting question.



And while the idea of using Vince's rag may seem a bit far fetched when it comes to cleaning up oil spills, one might want to look back. Way back.

The Canadian Navy was on top of the problem of oil spills decades ago. It was called an Oilevator and it was invented by Richard Sewell at the Defence Research Establishment in Esquimalt, British Columbia. Even the Americans noticed. In fact, it drew some attention because its ability to deal with moderate ocean conditions.

Unfortunately, the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Gulf Coast are not as forgiving as is needed to make a slick-licker effective. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is already slopping over the containment booms.

That makes watching weather and oceanographic conditions critical. Later today, if I get an opportunity, I put up some information.