Hurricane Lee: Why did it Fizzle?
Image from Max Golembo, Melissa Griffin, Morgan Winsor, and Emily Shapiro, ABC News
October 11, 2023
Jessica MacDonald, Contributing Writer
On Sept. 16, the UMF student body was expecting Hurricane Lee to hit the campus with intense wind and rain. Despite the hurricane warnings, Lee ended up fizzling. Students witnessed 20 to 30 mile per hour winds and very light rain– conditions far from a hurricane. It was renamed to a post-tropical cyclone and didn’t affect the campus like expected.
Sophomore and environmental science major Christopher Houdeshell provided his insight about the implications of Hurricane Lee, and what it means for climate change.
Houdeshell explained how he, after hearing that a hurricane was coming to Farmington, “was not very surprised about the initial predictions… I keep learning how storms are expected to continue to get worse as climate change continues.”
After the day had passed with no hurricane, Houdeshell wasn’t overly surprised.
“I have been places where hurricanes have been super hyped up like this one, and then nothing major happens… I think the hurricane fizzled out because the ocean water is colder up here, diminishing the hurricane’s strength.”
Houdeshell explained how hurricanes require warm ocean temperatures (approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit) to form and hold energy. When a hurricane reaches much-colder Maine waters (approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit) it loses its energy and dissipates.
Though Maine ocean temperatures are quite cold, the average temperature is on the rise. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute states the Gulf of Maine exhibits nearly a 1 degree increase every decade. Compared to the rest of the world’s oceans, this is more than triple the rate.
When asked about the dramatic temperature increases in the Gulf of Maine, Houdeshell “absolutely expects there to be an increase in hurricanes in the region, as well as an increase in the severity of them."
Due to climate change, and the rising temperature of the Gulf of Maine, the UMF campus may be hit by Florida-strength hurricanes in just a few decades. As for other severe weather events such as blizzards, Mainers have already begun to see worsening conditions–so hurricanes will likely follow.
