Does Florida have monsoons?While I am not one to sit on the fence (as I am not a politician by nature, but rather a hydrologist): my research keeps leading me up on the same fence post – a semi-definitive and inconclusive “yes” and “no.”
It depending on how you look at it.
The evidence – or lack there of – is seemingly in favor of “no”:
The term “monsoon” is simply not part of Florida’s water lexicon, in both speech and written word. I can’t find it mentioned once anywhere in any of my book on my Florida book shelf.
But that raises my curiosity even more:
“Yes” it’s not mentioned, but “no” it’s not outright refuted either … that keeps me digging.
And after all, South Florida has a distinctly seasonal rainfall pattern.
Could this just be a case of regional nomenclature, as in American “TV” versus the British “Telly” … same thing, just different words?
Let’s take a look.
First a couple things about “monsoons.”
Monsoons aren’t defined by precipitation, but rather by a “shift in the winds."
Winter in India is dominated by a desiccating northerly wind blowing off the Himalayas and Siberian plateau. Come summer, the desert of western India (Rajasthan Desert) heats up and forms a low pressure.
That pulls in moisture laden air from all sides of the Indian peninsula.
Thus form the monsoonal – or seasonal – storms of the India. They account for roughly 80 percent of India’s rainfall.
Sounds familiar, right?
That’s the same pattern we have here in south Florida.
A big difference between Florida and India is geographic distribution:India ranges from 15 to over 100 inches of annual rainfall, depending which part of the country you are in. Compare that to Florida fairly narrow range of between 40 and 60 inches of annual rain.
But that’s hardly proof one way or the other:
The American Southwest is famous for its “monsoons” – a firmly embedded term of the desert lexicon (I lived there) – despite a paltry 15 inch annual total.
As you can see, I’m still sitting on the fence … but also still digging.
5 comments:
When I first moved west and heard the term "monsoon" applied to the paltry amount of rain we get here, I thought it was a joke. But, as you say, it's the standard desert lexicon. If we can use the word, why not Florida?
I vote "NO!". The seasonal shift in winds is more consistent and dramatic in New Mexico than in Florida. They qualify as monsoonal, ours do not.
You have to draw the line somewhere or EVERY PLACE ON EARTH could be said to have monsoons.
Some metrics would be helpful. Perhaps YOU can become famous by creating them!
Here's your upcoming book, Bob... Since there isn't much research on this subject---I propose that you do the research and write a book!!!!!
Isn't it fun to be on the FENCE???? You are never wrong ---yet you are never right... ha ha
Have fun on vacation.
Betsy
Thanks for your comments.
Very good points by all parties: monsoons conjure images of rains, seasonal in nature, and by the buckets. For a desert, the Sonoran monsoons are splash more green to them than is typical of arid environments, even if they are minuscule by Florida standards.
And great point about fence sitting: the "rule of the fence sitter" is to only hop off on one side once the answer is clear, or a winner is declared.
This is the type of argument that good people could disagree on too, which adds to the mystique of thinking about it.
By the way, I was shocked to see how arid parts of India are; so yes, its wetter than Florida in its deep monsoon areas, but as dry as the Sonoran Desert in others.
To have a monsoon, you need to demonstrate two facts: (1) that there is a "seasonal shift in the winds", and (2) that during this seasonal shift in the winds, your region receives a majority of rain during this season. Both of these can be established from statistical data collected over the past 100+ years.
You can make your case stronger if the seasonal shift of the winds can be demonstrated to be the cause of the monsoon rainfall. But if the rainfall is caused by other factors (such as hurricanes) that are not really a result of the seasonal wind shift, I think your case that Florida has monsoons is weakened somewhat.
Here is a quote from NOAA that you should mull over:
Monsoons typically occur in areas with a large, elevated landmass which further enhances temperature and pressure contrasts between land and ocean, enhances moisture transport, and supports stronger subtropical highs.
Where is Florida's elevated land mass? The only elevated land mass I can think of in Florida is Space Mountain :-)
Quote is from: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon_whatis.php
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