Florida Braces For Devastating Hurricane Helene As Missouri Keeps Eye On Possible Fujiwhara Effect

Florida’s Gulf Coast is keeping a close eye on Hurricane Helene making landfall likely on Thursday.

The current forecast track is expected to come ashore anywhere between Tampa and most of the panhandle before affecting Georgia, the Carolinas and then taking a northwesterly turn which could, potentially, have an effect on the weather here in the like area.

“All of the things that are that go along with hurricanes and I mean you’re, you’re sitting here in the middle of the country being like, well, we don’t have a lot of that portions of it, but we’re still affected by whatever does come our way with that low pressure system. It is very, very crazy.”

Weatherology’s Cara Foster says the basic differences between tropical remnants from Hurricane Francine that affected Missouri and expected remnants from what will likely be Hurricane Helene should be a little less rain this time around.

However that could change, as it interacts with an existing low pressure system coming down from the north…which many believe will suck Helene’s remnants into itself, causing what is known as the “Fujiwhara” affect.

The effect is named after Sakuhei Fujiwhara, the Japanese meteorologist who initially described the effect.

Binary interaction of smaller circulations can cause the development of a larger cyclone, or cause two cyclones to merge into one….or in this case, two low pressure systems that would be spinning over the show me state.