Hurricane graveyard: Where cyclones go to die
This area in the Caribbean Sea is dubbed the hurricane graveyard because of its ability to weaken cyclones as they track over it.
There's a haunting name given to the mountainous terrain of some islands in the Caribbean Sea: The hurricane graveyard.
This informal term was coined by meteorologists because geographic and atmospheric conditions in the region have a history of destabilizing tropical cyclones. Wind shear can be high in the area, significant amounts of dry air can track in from Africa, and the trade winds can spread out. All of these factors weaken the cyclone’s wind field and strength, which in turn deforms the eye’s structure.
The Weather Network meteorologist Jaclyn Whittal says that the hurricane graveyard tends to affect weaker storms such as Category 1 hurricanes or tropical storms, while stronger systems are able to track through without any trouble. For more details, watch the video above.
