It is common for people to wonder about why it is so difficult for a hurricane to hit Brazil. Countries close to Brazilian territory constantly suffer the consequences of this natural phenomenon and, therefore, are always on the alert in an attempt to avoid the least possible damage. Anyway, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon? Yes there is. However, before this explanation, it is necessary to understand What is a hurricane and under what conditions is it formed. Come on?
What is
Drilling is nothing but a tropical storm, that is, a atmospheric disturbance which is normally formed in the oceans tropical or subtropical. The areas of formation of hurricanes correspond to low pressure centers, characterized by the occurrence of big storms, high formation of cloudsa lot moisture.
This instability allows an intense movement of air that ends up concentrating heat and humidity. The hurricane is therefore a closed wind circulation which operates by “aspirating” air from the surface and transporting it to higher areas of the
atmosphere. This circulation creates a kind of eye at its center — the known eye of the storm.We all know that this meteorological phenomenon has high destructive power, causing great damage wherever it goes, victimizing populations that sometimes find themselves homeless, mobilizing the government and efforts to rebuild the affected areas.
The occurrence of this phenomenon, in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean or not Atlantic Ocean, determines that he is called drilling. When the occurrence occurs in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, such phenomenon is called typhoon.
Read too:Difference between tornado and hurricane
A hurricane represents a closed circulation of winds, which form an eye.
Hurricanes in Brazil
Why is it so hard for a hurricane to hit Brazil
Basically hurricanes form over hot waters. The main "ingredients" of a hurricane are: concentrated heat and humidity, considering that their training is motivated by the Thermal energy, which is released when the air that has the highest concentration of moisture rises to the highest layers of the atmosphere, suffering condensation.
Therefore, tropical storms arise through the meeting of cold air masses with warm waters. No wonder that hurricanes often present a certain intensity and, when they reach the portion continental, end up losing their strength because on the continent there is not the same availability of heat and humidity that we oceans.
The North Atlantic has favorable conditions for the occurrence of hurricanes, unlike the South Atlantic.
Many countries of the American continent, especially in the North America, such as the United States and Mexico, and in Central America, like Haiti and Nicaragua, often suffer from these storms of nature and already have alert systems for the population to prepare for any storms.
And Brazil? Well, meteorologists and scholars in the area, in an interview with BBC News Brasil, stated that the conditions for the occurrence of hurricanes in Brazil are minimal if there is no influence of climate change.
Know more:Factors influencing the climate
But what are these minimal conditions? For the formation of a hurricane, it is necessary that:
the water masses of the oceans and seas present temperature above 27°C;
wind shear, which is nothing more than the variation of the wind current, that is, the possible changes in the speed and direction of the winds in a given path.
Brazil does not have the necessary conditions for the occurrence of these tropical storms. Ocean waters do not show temperatures above 26ºC. Usually the hottest portion of them is found in the northeast coast, however, does not reach the required average. And the issue of wind shear is rare in countries very close to the equator line, what is the case of the Brazil.
Has there ever been a hurricane in Brazil?
Contrary to what many people think and due to not favoring the formation of hurricanes, Brazil has already registered the occurrence of a tropical storm. As mentioned, these storms usually form in tropical or subtropical oceans. Thus, the region that presents the greatest possibility of this meteorological phenomenon is the South region, as hurricanes tend to migrate from warmer regions to cooler regions.
In this region, in 2004, the Hurricane Catarina. It is fair to say that there is controversy regarding this classification, but many scholars confirm that this storm corresponds to a hurricane. Catarina reached the coastal region of the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina and represents a rare case in the country. You winds formed by it reached 180 km/h and left traces for about 40 cities. More of 500 people were injured and approximately 30,000 were left homeless.
know more: Why are there no volcanoes in Brazil?
