Sub tropical low ?

[John B 106]

"A deepening sub-tropical low is forecast to move over the North Island from the north on Monday before slowly moving off to the southeast of the country".

 

Maybe someone with more met knowledge than I can correct me  if I'm wrong, but to me a sub tropical low is something that is another name for a tropical cyclone that has descended out of the tropics. Because as we know  a cyclone is restricted to the tropics and technically cannot exist in our latitude.

So when I see those words in a herald headline or text , as  the above quote is from , my first thought is  that I've missed a cyclone and 'those poor cruisers'.

[Kevin McCready 83]

Very unusual this late in the season. More extremes with the Sixth Extinction.

[Black Panther 1,584]

Not quite. You are describing a tropical low. Replace sub tropical low with winter depression and you'll be closer. A tropical low can turn into a cyclone/ hurricane . A sub tropical low doesnt have enough heat/energy. But can still be pretty mean.

[philstar 61]

I hope it doesn't wash the snow away

[Black Panther 1,584]

Snow sucks. I prefer palm trees and sand.

[Vorpal Blade 89]

Snow sucks. I prefer palm trees and sand.

Yeah, Ive often explained to Philstar "ice is at its best in a drink".

[wheels 543]

To add to BP's excellent info, this Low has not come down out of the Tropics like the ones we have had in the Summer. They started off as Cylcones and as they came further south, they decreased in intensity to become a Low. This one has formed and deepened close to NZ from the weather patterns around it. It is called Subtropical because of the location.
Technically, the Tropics are 0 to 23deg, Subtropics is the area from 23Deg to 35Deg each side of the equator. And Mid lat is 35 to 66deg. So effectively, NZ sits smack on in the Mid lats.

[wheels 543]

By the way, if the weather follows predictions, we could have an exact copy of this one again next Wed/Thursday.

[Freedom GBE 27]

To add to BP's excellent info, this Low has not come down out of the Tropics like the ones we have had in the Summer. They started off as Cylcones and as they came further south, they decreased in intensity to become a Low. This one has formed and deepened close to NZ from the weather patterns around it. It is called Subtropical because of the location.

Technically, the Subtropics is the area from 35Deg to 66Deg each side of the equator. So effectively, NZ sits smack on in the Subtropics.

Doesn't feel subtropical today. I thought NZ is below the sub tropics. I thought the sub tropics are between 23Deg to 35Deg. With the earth heating is this being revised?

[Black Panther 1,584]

I grew up in Northland. Our winter school uniform was a thicker pair of shorts. Never travelled south of Auckland till age 17. I would have preferred ot if northland were up around Norfolk is. Angela is from a small rock in the Caribbean. She thinks Auckland is freezing. I took her to see snow once she wouldnt get out of the car

[wheels 543]

Haha, I remember the first year in Auckland and walking around at the first Boat Show I had been to. I was wearing a T shirt and it was a brisk Southerly and was quite nice.. I came across BP and AA (Atom Ant) and there they were wrapped up in thick jackets looking like they were freezing their butts of in a blast freezer. They just looked at me and AA said "Aren't you Col.....oh yeah that's right, you're from the South Island".

 

I thought the sub tropics are between 23Deg to 35Deg. With the earth heating is this being revised?

 

That's the SubTropical Region. Sub meaning under. Sub Tropical is "under" the Tropics.
It is also the region where the combining air movements from Equator and Antarctic/Arctic meet. This causes the high pressure zones. High pressure is caused by those colossal air masses falling to the Earths surface.

[armchairadmiral 411]

Thankfully we've got global warming otherwise we would be really cold!?????

[Fish 0]

So when I see those words in a herald headline or text , as  the above quote is from , my first thought is  that I've missed a cyclone and 'those poor cruisers'.

I think the main problem here is you have been reading the Herald.

Stop reading the Herald and life will start making more sense again.

 

They were clearly over dramatising a normal winter low into something bigger and more click baity than it was.

 

Reading the Herald for anything other than the 'births deaths and marriages' notices is akin to reading Women's Day and hoping for a clear explanation of Donald J Trump...

[Kevin McCready 83]

I don't know how many Standard Deviations it was away from the norm, but all forecasters I heard said it wasn't normal.

[John B 106]

I thought a STL was a tropical cyclone that moved from the tropics to sub-tropics and lost intensity as opposed one that formed in

in the upper tasman & got stonger as it moved south.

Guess I'm wrong. 

The "bomb" in 1994 didn't originate as a named TC and had that ideal "window" look off the front of the high a  day or two  before. Turned real nasty.

http://setsail.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/mwh_queens_bday_storm.pdf

Yes , this is basically what I thought it meant too.

For it to be a sub tropical low it first had to be an ex TC.

 evidently not.

[John B 106]

I think the main problem here is you have been reading the Herald.

Stop reading the Herald and life will start making more sense again.

 

They were clearly over dramatising a normal winter low into something bigger and more click baity than it was.

 

Reading the Herald for anything other than the 'births deaths and marriages' notices is akin to reading Women's Day and hoping for a clear explanation of Donald J Trump...

Its Ok Fish , everything I read there runs through the old fart cynics filter before absorbtion.

[John B 106]

Doesn't feel subtropical today. I thought NZ is below the sub tropics. I thought the sub tropics are between 23Deg to 35Deg. With the earth heating is this being revised?

This is right.  The tropics are between the tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn.  Subtropics for us are from Capricorn (23 point something, about minerva reef latitude),  down to about the tip of Northland. 35.

 So defeating my own argument , I suppose what I'm being told is that if a low forms up north of NZ and below Minerva, its a sub tropical low. NOT what I thought.

[AJ Oliver 154]

OK, so if that thing was in the Northern Hemisphere, 

 

would it be a super-tropical low? 

[Black Panther 1,584]

No, It would be upside down.

[armchairadmiral 411]

Good advice Fish....which I've taken. Turn off TV news, but watch Sky News selectively. Occasionally watch Credlin/Bolt not so much for content but for a reminder of how media can try and keep pollies to account. No such thing here. Result a CoL disaster unfolds while mainstream NZ remains blissfully unaware. Awaits Jacinderellas baby as the lead item of political interest !