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Expert: - 9/30/2008


Question
I was wondering what the difference was between a Tropical, extratropical and subtropical?  I tried to look it up but it wasnt making sense to me.  Does it only have to do with where they form? and can all 3 become a hurricane?

Thanks a lot!

Answer
Jeph,

Here are the distinctions...

A TROPICAL system is purely warm core. In other words, the central part of the storm is clearly warmer than its environent, both in the low levels of the atmosphere and aloft. A SUBTROPICAL storm has some tropical characteristics and some non-tropical characteristics. Often times a subtropical low starts out as a cold core low via a an upper level trof getting pinched off into a closed low. It then sits over warm water and develops a warmer core in the mid to lower levels of the storm, due to the latent heat of condensation that is released by thunderstorms. This type of storm is a true "hybrid". An EXTRATROPICAL storm is a hurricane or tropical storm that transitions out of its tropical characteristics as it moves over colder water and/or comes into more northern latitudes. This system is also a hybrid, but it is becoming less and less tropical in nature as time goes on.

I hope this helped.

Sincerely,

Dave Dombek
AccuWeather.com

Accuweather

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Dave Dombek

Expertise

A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.

Experience

Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.

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