CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Earlier this week, we talked about how our
weather this summer would be less impacted by the end of La Nina, but more by
the Bermuda High. So what is it?
The Bermuda High, also referred to as the
Azores high is an expansive, semipermanent area of high pressure found in the
Atlantic Ocean. The location and intensity of this area of high pressure
is one of the main large-scale contributors to weather up and down the East
coast. The Bermuda high is one of many meteorological mechanisms that
transports heat northward, away from the tropics. Although, that heat is
moved to places where it is not always welcome.
When the high is located further West over
Bermuda, thus the name, clockwise flow around the high causes warm, humid air
to move in from the Southwest, often bringing very uncomfortable conditions to
the Carolinas in the summer. With plentiful moisture, we can still see
late afternoon convective storms, but the high blocks most weather systems from
the West from making it this far East, keeping conditions dry throughout the
summer months, although when the high is particularly strong, it can bring
droughts and heat waves to the East coast.
The National Weather Service says the high
moves further North and East, over the Azores in the cooler months, allowing
storm systems into the Carolinas in the winter and early Spring.
The Bermuda high is also the primary steering
mechanism for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic. As tropical
waves form off the coast of Africa, the clockwise flow around the high steers
these disturbances Westward. They remain over the warm, tropical waters
in the Atlantic, and can strengthen into tropical storms or hurricanes that can
ultimately impact the U.S.
