By: Staff Writer
June 21, 2024
As the Hurricane Season, 2024 kicks into gear, the Central American Gyre (CAG) has brought on days of torrential downpours in that region and has triggered landslides and flooding, which have resulted in at least a dozen deaths.
Authorities in El Salvador reported at least 11 people have been killed, while in neighboring Guatemala, at least three people were reported to have drowned.
A series of tropical disturbances in both the Pacific and Atlantic basins have produced torrential rainfall, and by the time the pattern subsides, precipitation totals are expected to reach several feet.
What is the CAG?
The CAG is a large, bloated area of low pressure that can be an early and late-season source of tropical development, and a relentless faucet of flooding rainfall.
These CAGs can form from May through June, then again most often in October and November following a lull during the summer. More than 40 percent of years see a CAG form.
CAGs are also slow-moving and can last on the order of days to weeks as they move over Central America and persistently generate inclement weather. Consequently, with the aid of the nearby ocean waters, CAGs can produce prolific amounts of rainfall over Central America, presenting a risk for flash floods and mudslides. The terrain of Central America may influence the development and organization of the showers and thunderstorms associated with CAGs.
On average, precipitation associated with CAGs most commonly occurs along the coast of Central America. Tropical cyclones over the western Caribbean Sea and southern Gulf of Mexico may draw moisture from a nearby CAG, enhancing the amount of rainfall they produce. The presence of a CAG may also push rainfall associated with tropical cyclones in the southern Gulf of Mexico towards the south and west.
Every Hurricane season, a broad area of low pressure develops in the western Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, known as a gyre.
During the early and latter parts of the hurricane season, the area is notorious for aiding in the development of tropical disturbances in the eastern Pacific, Bay of Campeche or western Caribbean Sea.
During the current gyre’s evolution, the National Hurricane Center has warned about the possibility of at least three different cyclones, with what is known as Potential Tropical Cyclone One, having the highest potential for development.