The Hurricane Heat Trail Effect on Caribbean Heat Waves.

Heat waves in the Caribbean have little spatial coherence throughout the region and can be isolated events from island to island. Unlike the synoptic circulation patterns that guide continental scale heat waves, heat waves in the Caribbean tend to be caused by local scale circulation patterns in the lower troposphere related to warm and humid poleward flow from the moist tropics. Strong southerly winds on the eastern edges of tropical storms in the Caribbean act to deliver similar conditions that lead to the emergence of heat waves in the region. A hurricane heat trail, the heat wave in the wake of a hurricane from its southerly counterpart, is observed to lag the passage of a hurricane at a location by about 1-3 days and can compound the effects related to tropical storm destruction. In addition, heat waves associated the hurricane heat trails are exacerbated by a marked reduction in the diurnal temperature range causing overnight lows to be warmer than usual. Hurricane heat trails from land falling versus non-land falling and strong versus weak storms are investigated. Hurricane heat trails have human health impacts and awareness of them can be used to improve hurricane disaster planning efforts as well as inform immediate post storm recovery preparations.