Rare weather phenomenon to occur as potential Hurricane Helene makes landfall

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – While the weather has been quiet around western Massachusetts, Florida is preparing for the potential landfall of a major hurricane.

Florida is no stranger to hurricanes and is preparing for what could become a major category 3 hurricane and make landfall on Thursday. The storm’s name will be Helene and will undergo rapid intensification from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters and weak wind shear before making landfall with winds as high as 115 mph.

What happens after landfall is a rare meteorological phenomenon called the Fujiwhara effect . Typically, this tropical system would turn east after landfall due to the rotation of the Earth. In this case, Helene will actually turn to the west and be dragged into an upper-level area of low pressure.

The Fujiwhara effect is when you have two areas of low pressure, usually tropical systems that end up pulling each other towards one another and rotate around each other.

Track Helene path live

Helene will get caught in this upper-level low and essentially have its energy absorbed by this area of low pressure and dissipate as it moves west.

Weather News

LIVE COVERAGE: Helene’s latest track, models on Tracking the Tropics

Rare weather phenomenon to occur as potential Hurricane Helene makes landfall

Tropical Storm Helene expected to strengthen rapidly

Watches issued for parts of Southwest Florida ahead of tropical impacts

Chris Bouzakis is a meteorologist who has been a part of the 22News team since 2021. Follow Chris on X @ChrisBouzakis and view his bio to see more of his work.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.