As the Atlantic hurricane season enters its final months – with the season ending on Nov. 30 – the Atlantic has experienced a spike in storm activity. In the wake of Hurricane Gabrielle are two new disturbances: one Hurricane Humberto and the other Tropical Storm Imelda. Currently, Humberto is situated over 400 miles south of Bermuda and is expected to curve around the island into this week, while Imelda, now near the Bahamas, is expected to move north before making a sharp turn to the east. These predicted parallel paths present the possibility of a rare occurrence: a phenomenon called the Fujiwhara effect.
The Fujiwhara effect – named after Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara – occurs when two storms affect each other in a “dance,” usually when they form within 600-800 miles of each other. This “dance” between the two storms can bring them together, repel them from each other, or cause one storm to absorb the other. What makes the Fujiwhara effect so significant is this last, particularly rare case, which causes the merging of the two storms into one greater storm.
Though the Fujiwhara effect is a rare occurrence, some past examples provide an insight as to how Humberto and Imelda could interact. For example, in 1994 in the Pacific, Pat and Ruth circled around each other before merging into one storm. Also, in 1995 in the Atlantic, two instances of the Fujiwhara effect occurred consecutively: first, Humberto and Iris were repelled from each other, then a third storm, Karen, was absorbed by Iris. Other examples include the interactions between Connie and Diane in 1955 and Hilary and Irwin in 2017.
To stay up to date with the paths of these storms, you can follow the hurricane tracker provided by the National Hurricane Center.
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