Isabella O'Malley
Three tropical cyclones in the South Pacific are spinning, an unusual situation scientists call it.
Tropical cyclones Rae, Seru and Alfred are all stirring as the region is starting in November and ending in April.
When storms form in the Southwest Pacific and hurricanes in the North Atlantic, these storms are called cyclones, but are basically the same phenomenon.
How unusual is this?
“It's not very rare to have three hurricanes simultaneously in September at the North Atlantic,” said Brian Tang, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Albany. “Of course, it's a very busy one for the South Pacific. During the period, many things will happen to the three tropical cyclones, but not unprecedented.”
Don said Lucas, Anna and Bina stirred Lucas at the same time, and although it is not clear whether Bina officially reached Category 1 status, there were three storms last time.
Where are these storms and causing damage?
Rae was founded in northern Fiji on Friday and brought whipped winds and heavy rains that damaged the fruit trees, according to local reports.
Alfred, developing in the Coral Sea on Monday, is expected to bring floods and rains to Queensland, northeastern Australia this weekend.
Seru became a hurricane on Tuesday and is expected to track near the Island of Vanuatu, but is still at sea.
What caused three whirlwinds at the same time?
Scientists say it's hard to say, but any explanation begins with the usual high activity at this time of the year.
Princeton University climate scientist Gabriel Vecchi pointed to evidence of the so-called madman-Julian oscillation, which is fluctuations in the atmosphere that lead to rising spots of air and rainfall, spreading around the world for 30 days or more Long time. He said it appears to be tracking the Southwest Pacific region in a way that can enhance cyclone activity.
“The atmosphere is chaotic. There are a lot of natural fluctuations in it… We need to open up about the possibility that factors that we predict beyond our capabilities may cause these three cyclones at the same time,” Vecchi said.
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