What we know about Yaku Cyclone?

Those phenomena are usual at Southern Pacific but not at its eastern side.

 

 

Yaku Cyclone looked like so on March 7^th, 2023. (Footage provided by Senamhi)

 

Peru’s National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology  (Senamhi as in Spanish) reported on March 7^th, 2023, that Yaku (“water” in Quechuan) Cyclone had formed in front of the coast of Departments Tumbés, Piura, and Lambayequé. Read the report in Spanish.

 

It added it was about a non-organized system (set of meteorological phenomena) with tropical features that influenced in heavy to extreme rains fallen over these departments in Peruvian Northern, beginning March 2023. It forecast it was going to carry precipitations toward Departments La Libertad, Ancash, and Lima, located just to the south of the three first ones, for March-ending 2023.

 

The agency, that tracked Yaku since February-ending 2023, pointed out this meteorological phenomenon is not usual in front of Peruvian shores.

 

 

What is a cyclone?

It’s a region at the atmosphere where the pressure –the weight of the air—is much lower than the surrounding areas. That causes much wind and extraordinary rains.

 

The falling of pressure values happens abruptly by concentrating clouds abnormally, which start to spin around a center at huge speed what causes powerful winds, rains over their extreme rates. But it also can raise the sea level pulling serges, according to Mexico’s National Autonomous University.

 

The cyclones ever contain air masses those feed from warm sea water (over 79ºF). That’s why they are usual at the tropics during warm seasons. An example of that are hurricanes, so usual at North Atlantic Ocean.

 

The cyclones use to rotate in circles  expanding each time more as they gain more power until covering tens of thousands square miles, but they are only mighty while they sail over the sea. When they strike land, they lose power downgrading to tropical storms, then tropical depressions, but they are even capable to carry much wind and rain until they dissipate.

 

 

Humboldt serves as a barrier

Although the news use to cover more the Northern Atlantic cyclones, they are also usual at the Southern Pacific. Between 2020 and 2021, it was a very intense cyclonic activity across the western side of that ocean.

 

The phenomenon is rare at the southeastern side due to the oceanic water is colder because of Humboldt’s Current. Theoretically, this feature of the Southeastern Pacific makes few probable a cyclone strikes land – it would downgrade when it smashes cold water, lose power, just reach the shores of Peru and Chile as a tropical depression, or it wouldn’t.

 

Another characteristic is that, unlike Northern Atlantic, in the southeastern Pacific, the cyclones move clockwise respecting the Coriolis Principle that moves the air from east to west due to the earth’s rotation.

 

 

Messy nomenclature

Unlike the Northern Atlantic hurricanes, that are classified in one only scale with five categories mainly based on the wind speed, until four scales are used at the Southern Pacific according to the observatory. The specialized ones are located in Brisbane (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Nadi (Fiji), Hawaii Islands (United States).

 

Even, there’s no only name to describe the same phenomenon. At the Northwestern Pacific, it’s called typhoon, while at the rest of that ocean, it’s called severe tropical cyclone.

 

Senamhi has recommended  to check out its bulletins for knowing updated, verified information about this phenomenon and other meteorological and hydrological values across Peru. Also, go to our entry with weather actual conditions & forecasts, updated up-to-the-minute.

 

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