The tropics are still active as we close out the month of September. Currently, we have two tropical systems swirling in the Atlantic, Tropical Storms Philippe and Rina.
Philippe is located roughly 500 miles west of Rina and questions have been raised on the possibility of a rare Fujiwhara Effect taking place.
The Fujiwhara Effect is when two tropical cyclones are spinning in the same direction and pass close enough to each other, they begin an intense dance around their common center.
Traditionally, if one storm is a lot stronger than the other, the smaller one will orbit it and eventually will become absorbed by the stronger storm.
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While both Rina and Phillippe are near each other, the likelihood of the Fujiwhara Effect occurring doesn’t look likely at this time.
In the coming days, Rina will separate from Phillippe as a mid-level ridge steers this storm north and west.
Rina will continue to move into a hostile environment with plenty of shear inhibiting the storm from further intensification. The storm eventually weakens West of Bermuda early next week.
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In response, Philippe stays nearly stationary in the next few days. By Monday, the storm should turn sharply northward.
Philippe holds its strength at least through Wednesday of this week.
It’s worth mentioning the track with both storms could still change and the possibility of the Fujiwhara Effect could occur.
The last time the Fujiwhara Effect occurred was back in 2017 between storms called Hilary and Irwin in the eastern Pacific, off the coast of Mexico.
