Fuji-what? No, not Fujifilm, but Fujiwhara. This phenomenon is named after Sakuhei Fujiwhara, the Japanese meteorologist who first discovered this effect over a century ago, in the early 1920s.
Fujiwhara discovered two cyclones pivoting around each other in 1921 and observed more double cyclones doing the same thing in the couple of years following the first observation.
When two tropical cyclones are located within 1400 kilometers (or roughly 870 miles) of each other, they can cause sinking air in between the storms to act as a "pivot point" around which the two storms rotate. This causes both storms' tracks to alter from their original course compared to the intended track if there were no second storm nearby.
In this particular case, it appears more likely that Hurricane Humberto and what will likely become Tropical Storm or Hurricane Imelda will alter each other's courses due to the Fujiwhara effect.
While it is unclear how much the Fujiwhara effect will impact both storms, the exact interaction will be key to determining how close soon-to-be Imelda gets to the East Coast, or even whether it will make landfall.
There is growing potential for Imelda to slow down or even stall because of the pivoting motion between it and Humberto early to midweek next week.
If that happens, the flood threat could be significant for parts of the Southeast coast, ranging from the Outer Banks to the Georgia-Florida border.
Some of the same areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene a year ago Saturday could also see flooding rain, depending on the exact track it takes.
Follow the Power of 5 team for the latest updates on this and what impacts the U.S. may see.
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