From: Subject: Monday Weather Topic in Greater Depth Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:29:00 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/online/archive/course/09_fall/f09w06m_sup.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5579 Monday Weather Topic in Greater Depth

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION...IN GREATER DEPTH

To complement the Daily Summary for Monday, 12 = October 2009=20

COLUMBUS, EXPLORATION & THE WEATHER

Today is the observed Columbus Day, a Federal holiday, when the = nation honors=20 Christopher Columbus, the 15th century Italian mariner who is = often=20 identified as the "discoverer of the New World". In reality, Europeans = had=20 reached the North American shores several centuries earlier. The Norse = Vikings,=20 led by such legendary explorers as Leif Ericksson, had explored and = established=20 settlements in North America in what is now Labrador during the early=20 11th century. Unfortunately, these settlements and those in = Greenland=20 were abandoned by the end of the 14th Century when favorable = weather=20 conditions deteriorated with the onset of a several centuries long = "Little Ice=20 Age" that plunged much of the northern hemisphere into an exceptionally = cold=20 interval that saw expansion of sea ice.

In late September 1492, Christopher Columbus with his fleet of three = sailing=20 vessels was propelled westward by the prevailing trade winds that are = found in=20 the subtropics. His voyage to San Salvador in the Caribbean from the = Canary=20 Islands was on the order of 36 days. Nearly calm wind conditions on = several=20 occasions slowed his trip. However, he did not encounter any hurricanes = that=20 would have been disastrous. By commencing his journey in mid September = at the=20 beginning of the later half of the North Atlantic hurricane season, the = region=20 where a majority of hurricanes form shifts westward to the western = Caribbean and=20 Gulf of Mexico from near the Cape Verde Islands, a frequent site of = early season=20 hurricane formation.

To take advantage of the prevailing westerly winds that mark the=20 midlatitudes, Columbus took a more northern route on his return voyage = to Spain.=20 However, on this return voyage in February 1493, Columbus was overtaken = by a=20 storm system with a cold front west of the Azores. He was able to ride = out the=20 storm that included thunderstorms with lightning.

On his fourth and final expedition to the Caribbean in 1502, Columbus = used=20 his seafaring skills when confronted by a hurricane near Hispaniola. = While Santo=20 Domingo was damaged and at least 20 Spanish ships with over 500 sailors = were=20 lost in the hurricane, Columbus remained safely anchored in an island = cove.

REFERENCE

Hughes, P., 1976: American weather stories. Environmental Data = Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Washington DC. = 114=20 pp.

Return to the Monday=20 Daily Weather Summary

Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email mailto:hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
=A9=20 Copyright, 2009, The American Meteorological Society. =