Has the tutt ever stuck around the whole entire season.

[boca]

The tutt seems to be protecting us from systems developing and I was wondering if this feature will continue to stick around or weaken. Has their ever been a season where the tutt hung in there the whole entire season.

[AJC3]

The TUTT is refered to as being semi-permanent. It exists, in some form, during the entire hurricane season. It varies in amplitude and wavelength, as pieces of vorticity will frequently fracture off. These TUTT lows often begin to retrograde westward, or, they will sometimes become Q-stationary.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A10.html

http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~chu/chap2/se205.htm

[beachbum_al]

I have another question.

I know the TUTT is helping to prevent waves in the Caribbean from forming but will this TUTT effect waves that enter the GOM from forming or reaching strength?

[boca]

Thanks AJC3 the reason why I brought this up is I'm hopeing this tutt will protect us for the rest of the season because my hurricane shutters won't be installed until the last week of Sept.

[AJC3]

I have another question.

I know the TUTT is helping to prevent waves in the Caribbean from forming but will this TUTT effect waves that enter the GOM from forming or reaching strength?

Generally speaking, no it will not, since the main TUTT axis is generally over the central or west central Atlantic. However, TUTT lows have been known to frequently retrograde into the GOMEX after breaking off from the main TUTT. These lows often interact with westward moving t-waves...hence the dreaded "TROPICAL WAVE INTERACTING WITH AN UPPER LOW" verbiage that is often found in the TWO.

Also, keep in mind the interaction between a t-wave and TUTT (and especially a TUTT low) can be pretty complex. If the shear imparted is divergent, which generally occurs on the ascending (eastern) side, you will often see convection increase, somtimes explosively. These encounters have actually spun up TCs, albeit infrequently. This is an exception, rather than a rule.

The western side of a TUTT or TUTT low is dry/subsident and suppresses convection.

[Steve]

>>I know the TUTT is helping to prevent waves in the Caribbean from forming but will this TUTT effect waves that enter the GOM from forming or reaching strength?

None whatsoever. In our region, TUTTs are usually found in the western Atlantic. They will sometimes break apart waves or shunt them off around their eastern periphery, but sometimes they will break through and fight the TUTTs. When a wave gets on the western side of a TUTT, often the atmospheric conditions include low shear and tranquil conditions - just the kind of thing a little wave could use to grow in stature. In my experience, TUTTs tend to be larger and most sweeping in strong El Nino years, but as AJ3 said, they are a semi-permanent feature. However, many years (and I believe either 2002 or 2003 was one of them), most of the Atlantic contained concentric or circular upper level lows rather than TUTT features. This is often a signal of increased risk to the North American Continent.

Steve

[gatorcane]

I have another question.

I know the TUTT is helping to prevent waves in the Caribbean from forming but will this TUTT effect waves that enter the GOM from forming or reaching strength?

Generally speaking, no it will not, since the main TUTT axis is generally over the central or west central Atlantic. However, TUTT lows have been known to frequently retrograde into the GOMEX after breaking off from the main TUTT. These lows often interact with westward moving t-waves...hence the dreaded "TROPICAL WAVE INTERACTING WITH AN UPPER LOW" verbiage that is often found in the TWO.

Also, keep in mind the interaction between a t-wave and TUTT (and especially a TUTT low) can be pretty complex. If the shear imparted is divergent, which generally occurs on the ascending (eastern) side, you will often see convection increase, somtimes explosively. These encounters have actually spun up TCs, albeit infrequently. This is an exception, rather than a rule.

The western side of a TUTT or TUTT low is dry/subsident and suppresses convection.

Is this not what we are seeing with our wave right now as it has exploded recently?

[bvigal]

I have another question.

I know the TUTT is helping to prevent waves in the Caribbean from forming but will this TUTT effect waves that enter the GOM from forming or reaching strength?

Generally speaking, no it will not, since the main TUTT axis is generally over the central or west central Atlantic. However, TUTT lows have been known to frequently retrograde into the GOMEX after breaking off from the main TUTT. These lows often interact with westward moving t-waves...hence the dreaded "TROPICAL WAVE INTERACTING WITH AN UPPER LOW" verbiage that is often found in the TWO.

Also, keep in mind the interaction between a t-wave and TUTT (and especially a TUTT low) can be pretty complex. If the shear imparted is divergent, which generally occurs on the ascending (eastern) side, you will often see convection increase, somtimes explosively. These encounters have actually spun up TCs, albeit infrequently. This is an exception, rather than a rule.

The western side of a TUTT or TUTT low is dry/subsident and suppresses convection.

Thanks, AJC3, for that excellent explanation. Want to see the "ascending side explosive convection" look at a sat pic of here last night! Then poof as the wave passes.

[beachbum_al]

Thanks for the explanation.

[Patrick99]

The TUTT taketh away, but the TUTT also giveth if wave/storm is in the right place.