What Is a Tropical Depression?
A lot of people find the weather fascinating, but there are times when the weather can also be dangerous--or at least when it has the potential to become dangerous. Lightning, tornadoes, floods, and other problems can show up almost anywhere in the country, but the U.S. coastline that borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes and other tropical weather. These weather anomalies often start out as waves or clusters of showers and storms that become more serious (and of much more interest to weather forecasters) when they become tropical depressions.
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History
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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is an average of eleven tropical depressions that develop into tropical storms each year over the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these storms remain over the open waters and either dissipate or move to the North where they don't cause any harm to land. Of the storms that form from tropical depressions, an average of six of them will grow in strength and become hurricanes. The development potential of a tropical depression is the main reason that weather forecasters are so interested when one forms.
Features
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To have a tropical depression there must be an organized system of thunderstorms and clouds, and that system must have sustained winds that are 38 mph or under. Usually, weather forecasters will not classify something as a tropical depression unless its winds are 35 mph sustained. Sustained winds are classified as winds that persist for at least one minute in duration, and are measured 33 feet above the surface of the water. Once sustained winds in the system reach 39 miles per hour, the system becomes a tropical storm and receives a name. Tropical depressions are designated only by numbers.
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Time Frame
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How long a system takes to become a tropical depression and how long it remains one before either dissipating or growing into a tropical storm can be affected by many factors. The Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois says that the average time for a tropical depression to form into a tropical storm is between 12 and 48 hours. Some tropical depressions fall outside of those parameters and some of them fail to develop at all, most often due to shearing winds or cold waters.
Theories/Speculation
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates thinks that he might be able to create technology that can stop tropical weather. The idea is to cool the water around a storm, because warm water is something that a tropical depression needs to continue to grow. However, skeptics believe that the technology wouldn't provide enough of a benefit to be worthwhile. While it might weaken the center of a storm, it wouldn't affect the outlying regions enough to protect people or to cause the storm to dissipate.
Warning
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People who live in areas where tropical weather is more likely will worry about hurricanes, but they should take tropical storms and even tropical depressions seriously as well. While the winds of a tropical depression are usually not strong enough to be dangerous, these systems can bring torrential rain, flooding and tornadoes that all have the potential to cause loss of life and property. Anyone in the path of a tropical depression should pay attention to the weather forecast and take the recommended precautions, as these storms also have the potential to strengthen quickly and with little warning.
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