Until this past week only two tropical cyclones had ever been noted in the South Atlantic Basin, and no hurricanes
Until late last month no hurricanes had ever been recorded in the Atlantic Ocean south of the equator. Then hurricane Catarina slammed into Brazil. The storm was named, unofficially, for the southern Brazilian state it hit. It was photographed by the crew of the International Space Station.
Only two tropical storms, the seeds of hurricanes, had ever been spotted in the South Atlantic Basin. Water temperatures are generally too cool to provide the energy necessary to adequately intensify any low pressure systems, and wind shears at higher altitudes are typically so strong they cut the chimney's off any developing storms.
Catarina developed an eye and apparently reached hurricane strength on Friday,
March 26, before eventually making landfall late on Saturday, March 27, 2004.
At least three people were killed.
All hurricanes rotate counterclockwise
in the Northern Hemisphere, owing to Earth's rotation about its axis, which
causes the planet to slip under the wind, effectively curving it in one direction.
In the Southern Hemisphere, a cyclone rotates clockwise, however. And so goes
Catarina.
This picture was made just as the storm began to come ashore. The coastline is visible under the clouds in the upper left corner of the image.
-- Robert
Roy Britt
Credit: NASA/ISS/EOL/JSC
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