Here’s why the weekend storm isn’t being highlighted by the National Hurricane Center

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Storm is not tropical in nature and therefore won’t get a name

Low Pressure

ORLANDO, Fla. – The storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico kind of looks like a tropical storm on satellite and impacts in Central Florida Saturday evening into Sunday morning may look like that of a low-end tropical storm.

So why isn’t this being highlighted by the National Hurricane Center and why won’t this get a name?

The simple answer is, meteorologically this storm isn’t tropical in nature. Storms are only named if they are tropical.

Extra-tropical cyclones, like the one coming to Florida for the weekend can bring similar impacts to tropical storms and even hurricanes, but they are built completely different.

Tropical cyclones, in this part of the world knows as tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes have a warm core.

They get their strength from warm ocean water in similar atmospheric pressure situations. These are known meteorologically as a barotropic lows.

The below figures show the core of both a tropical and extra-tropical system. At the surface an extra-tropical system system has fronts whereas a tropical system does not.

The system coming to Florida for the weekend IS known as an extra-tropical cyclone. Extra-tropical cyclones have fronts attached to them and have a cold core.

These are a result of upper-level lows that originate in mid-latitudes, northern U.S. and Canada. They strengthen from differences in temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. Meteorologically known as baroclinic lows.

The storm is developing from several distinct pieces that reside from the Gulf of Mexico all the way into southern Canada.

Upper level pattern shows the disturbances that will come together to create weekend storm

Piece 1 and 2, near the Canadian Border will phase or come together to make a bigger trough, upper-level low across the Southern Plains or Mississippi River Valley before moving into the Deep South.

It will then meet up with piece 3 near the Northeast Gulf of Mexico.

Long story short, the strengthening of the storm for the weekend will be due to the trough moving into the Deep South increasing temperature differences in the atmosphere. There are also fronts attached to this storm making it extra-tropical and not tropical.

Even though impacts to us may be similar to that of a tropical storm, meteorologically it is very different.

Storms are only named if they are tropical in nature.