creativity

How the brown ocean effect changes everything we know about hurricanes

Christa Avampato
This satellite image shows Hurricane Ida bearing down on the Gulf Coast in 2021, a storm fed by the brown ocean effect. Image from NOAA.

When Helene devastated North Carolina, it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. (Sustained wind speed alone is what determines the type and category of a storm.) North Carolina didn’t get the eye of the storm either. That didn’t matter. What devastated North Carolina was the amount and rate of rainfall. 

The mountains of western North Carolina were thought to be as climate proof as a place could be. 350 miles from the coast. Over 2,000 feet above sea level. Helene showed us a dangerous aspect of storms that means there are no more climate havens — the brown ocean effect. 

Hurricanes become especially dangerous when they can spend extended periods of time over warm water. Conventional thinking and history have shown us that when a hurricane reaches land, the land dissipates its strength and the storm, eventually, fizzles. This is why coasts have historically been in greater danger that inland areas. The brown ocean effect changes that. 

When land is warm and saturated with water, as happened in Western North Carolina, it acts as something akin to ocean. While it doesn’t typically kick up the wind speed of a storm like Helene, it provides an excess of moisture and heat. Because the ground is saturated, the massive amount of rain can’t be absorbed. This leads to flooding and landslides. The devastation, loss of life, and high number of missing people in Western North Carolina caused by Helene is partially from the brown ocean effect. The heavy rains dumped on saturated land ravaged everything in their path from houses to infrastructure to power and communication lines. There is even footage of a casket unearthed from a cemetery and carried away by the rushing water. 

The brown ocean effect can happen anywhere there’s land. As rains become heavier and more frequent from climate change and global warming, it can take hold in many more places. Every land mass can provide ocean-like fuel for a storm. 

At the time of this writing, Hurricane Milton is barreling toward Florida. It’s a Category 5 with winds at 180 miles per hour, spinning over the hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Stronger than Hurricane Katrina. Even if it weakens, it still has all that water in it that it will drop when it hits land. Also, weakening in this case may be every bit as devastating as wind because it may slow down and pick up even more moisture from the Gulf. The land in Florida is already saturated, as the land in North Carolina was before Helene arrived. It’s a frightening alignment of circumstances. 

On Monday night I watched hurricane specialist John Morales get choked up on air giving the news update on Milton becoming a Category 5. These storms are no longer once-in-a-century, once-in-a-lifetime, and perhaps not even once-in-a-season. This may now be our new normal that is anything but normal.

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Published by Christa Avampato

The short of it: Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day. The long of it: My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events. While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist. My company: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me. Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.

I'd love to know what you think of this post! Please leave a reply and I'll get back to you in a jiffy! ~ CRA

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