[ExI] oh no, not this again...

[Stuart LaForge]

Quoting Spike:

> ...that would be a compelling theory except that Atlantic sea  
> surface temperatures this fall are not cooler, they > are warmer.   
> This in theory should have be a very active hurricane season  
> according to long-accepted theory.

I am by no means an expert on the weather, but the standard  
explanation for hurricanes doesn't make sense. The high temperature of  
the sea surface can't drive a hurricane by itself, it needs a  
temperature gradient from the ocean surface to the top of the  
convection cell. It doesn't matter how warm the surface temps are if  
the upper atmosphere is too warm to get a good convective flow going.  
I don't have solid data, but during the volcanic eruption, the  
stratosphere had its moisture content increased by 10% in a few  
seconds in the form of superheated steam. The oceans surface is a  
little warmer this year, but the atmosphere is also warmer. Less of a  
temperature gradient means less convection means fewer storms and no  
hurricanes.

But like I said, I am just broadly applying fluid dynamics to the  
situation, I am not a meteorologist.

Stuart LaForge