COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Fujiwhara effect is the fascinating interaction between two nearby tropical cyclones.
When two storms are spinning in the same direction and come within about 800 miles, they can begin to circle each other.
The National Weather Service describes this interaction as “an intense dance around their common center.” If the storms were to merge into one larger system, it could lead to a more powerful hurricane, although this is rare.
A recent example occurred in 2017 between Hurricanes Hilary and Irwin in the East Pacific.
For meteorologists, predicting the Fujiwhara Effect can be challenging.
This created difficulty in forecasting Tropical Storms Phillipe and Rina just this past weekend.
The tropical storms were close enough to cause the rare Fujiwhare Effect, but as it turned out, Tropical Storm Rina separated and weakened.