Latest news with #GulfStream
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
How one family's dream of sailing away to the Bahamas became a reality
Sailing the open seas with their children for a months-long adventure had been a dream for Amherstburg, Ont., teachers Rob and Katie Lynn Ferguson. Earlier this year, that dream became a reality when they bought a sailing catamaran sight-unseen, fixed it up and set sail from Florida to the Bahamas. "It was nice to kind of live out our passion for so many months," Rob Ferguson said. For years, he had obsessively been looking at online boat sales for the right fit, while also regularly following sailing vloggers online for inspiration. "We always loved sailing. We grew up sailing," he said. Ferguson and his wife had planned on taking sabbaticals from their jobs as high school teachers for some time, and thought a sailing trip would be a great adventure for them to go on with their nine-year old son Finn, 12-year-old daughter Kora and their pup, Burleigh. "I was nervous, obviously, but I was very excited," Katie Lynn Ferguson said. "All four of us, I think, are always up for adventure." They drove their minivan down to Florida, fixed up their newly purchased sailboat and set sail first to the Florida Keys before making their way across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. 'Surpassed all of our expectations' They would anchor from place to place, always on the move, and they became more and more amazed with how blue and beautiful the water was as they continued to move east. "It would just get more amazing. Like, it surpassed all of our expectations," Rob said. The children were home schooled on the boat by their mom for about two hours each day, and then they would move on to "adventure time," as Katie would put it. "So that usually entailed swimming of some kind, whether it was snorkeling and exploring reefs or hiking on land, finding caves," she said. While the kids were a little bit nervous about the adventure, they say they had a great time and found life on a boat much more comfortable than they had initially imagined. "I thought when we were sleeping it would be really rocky and I would be a lot more seasick," Kora Ferguson said. "But it was definitely a lot better than I thought." Kora's favourite memory was feeding sea turtles on a beach. "It was so cool," she said with a grin. Finn's favourite memory was interacting with some octopuses in Spanish Wells. "I got to let them suction my hand," he remembered. 'Living our dream' There were some scary moments as well, like when the family hit a storm one evening. "It was super rough," Rob said, the kids nodding in agreement. They were however able to find a safe harbour where they recovered. Aside from the beauty of the Bahamas, the connections made with other people were the highlight for the family. "We've never met such nice, amazing people, and never had so many connections that we'll have for a lifetime down there," he said. A full circle moment for Rob was running into and spending time with the famous sailing vloggers whose adventures he'd been following from home. He said they would anchor right next to their boat. "This is crazy that we're here living our dream with the people we've been watching, trying to live vicariously through them," Rob said. "And here we are now, hanging out with them. And that was a really cool experience." They spent a total of five months sailing around the Bahamas from February until June, when they made their way home before the start of hurricane season. There was, however, one big relief for the kids about finally returning home: it was nice for things to not always be so wet all the time.
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
How one family's dream of sailing away to the Bahamas became a reality
Sailing the open seas with their children for a months-long adventure had been a dream for Amherstburg, Ont., teachers Rob and Katie Lynn Ferguson. Earlier this year, that dream became a reality when they bought a sailing catamaran sight-unseen, fixed it up and set sail from Florida to the Bahamas. "It was nice to kind of live out our passion for so many months," Rob Ferguson said. For years, he had obsessively been looking at online boat sales for the right fit, while also regularly following sailing vloggers online for inspiration. "We always loved sailing. We grew up sailing," he said. Ferguson and his wife had planned on taking sabbaticals from their jobs as high school teachers for some time, and thought a sailing trip would be a great adventure for them to go on with their nine-year old son Finn, 12-year-old daughter Kora and their pup, Burleigh. "I was nervous, obviously, but I was very excited," Katie Lynn Ferguson said. "All four of us, I think, are always up for adventure." They drove their minivan down to Florida, fixed up their newly purchased sailboat and set sail first to the Florida Keys before making their way across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. 'Surpassed all of our expectations' They would anchor from place to place, always on the move, and they became more and more amazed with how blue and beautiful the water was as they continued to move east. "It would just get more amazing. Like, it surpassed all of our expectations," Rob said. The children were home schooled on the boat by their mom for about two hours each day, and then they would move on to "adventure time," as Katie would put it. "So that usually entailed swimming of some kind, whether it was snorkeling and exploring reefs or hiking on land, finding caves," she said. While the kids were a little bit nervous about the adventure, they say they had a great time and found life on a boat much more comfortable than they had initially imagined. "I thought when we were sleeping it would be really rocky and I would be a lot more seasick," Kora Ferguson said. "But it was definitely a lot better than I thought." Kora's favourite memory was feeding sea turtles on a beach. "It was so cool," she said with a grin. Finn's favourite memory was interacting with some octopuses in Spanish Wells. "I got to let them suction my hand," he remembered. 'Living our dream' There were some scary moments as well, like when the family hit a storm one evening. "It was super rough," Rob said, the kids nodding in agreement. They were however able to find a safe harbour where they recovered. Aside from the beauty of the Bahamas, the connections made with other people were the highlight for the family. "We've never met such nice, amazing people, and never had so many connections that we'll have for a lifetime down there," he said. A full circle moment for Rob was running into and spending time with the famous sailing vloggers whose adventures he'd been following from home. He said they would anchor right next to their boat. "This is crazy that we're here living our dream with the people we've been watching, trying to live vicariously through them," Rob said. "And here we are now, hanging out with them. And that was a really cool experience." They spent a total of five months sailing around the Bahamas from February until June, when they made their way home before the start of hurricane season. There was, however, one big relief for the kids about finally returning home: it was nice for things to not always be so wet all the time.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Bryan Norcross: Disturbance to drench Florida, then watching for development in the Gulf
An area of disturbed weather offshore of the Southeast coast is going to turn into a problem for the Florida Peninsula this week. It's going to take an unusual path from east to west, slowly looping toward the Gulf. It will bring a tremendous amount of tropical moisture to Florida and produce slow-moving downpours. This type of weather scenario often produces flash flooding. So plan to stay aware. After the system moves into the Gulf mid-week, the National Hurricane Center is giving it a slight chance of developing into at least a tropical depression. The strong consensus of the various computer forecasts is that the system will stay weak and disorganized, but it's important to remember that forecasts for systems that haven't even begun to develop are always subject to change. The current consensus is that the disturbance with its expansive tropical moisture will track toward the northern Gulf coast and spread heavy rain along the coast and well inland. The system might stall late in the week over or near the northern Gulf. If that happens, extremely wet weather will affect coastal areas next weekend. Plan to stay informed. The disturbance developed from the tail end of a cold front that moved offshore of the U.S. East Coast. The main storm system and front are pushing away into the Atlantic, but the disturbance was left behind over the warm Gulf Stream waters offshore of Georgia and South Carolina. The system is best organized in the middle levels of the atmosphere. When a disturbance develops from a non-tropical system, like a front, it often takes a number of days to gain much organization. That's why the National Hurricane Center has the Area to Watch in the Gulf. It will take until about Wednesday before the disorganized, but very wet system gets there. Rain looks likely to increase across the Florida Peninsula tomorrow and continue into Wednesday. Then our attention will focus on the Gulf and the northern Gulf coast. The atmosphere is extremely moist over Florida, and that moisture level is forecast to increase. So heavy rain looks very likely over a good part of the Florida Peninsula. It appears that the thunderstorms will be slow moving, increasing the threat of local flooding. Otherwise, the tropics remain calm. Hostile upper winds and dry air are holding development at article source: Bryan Norcross: Disturbance to drench Florida, then watching for development in the Gulf
Daily Record
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Record
How Scotland's weather is looking this week as London's 33C compared to meagre 13C in Tiree
Tiree is often referred to as the 'Hawaii of the North' and is considered one of the sunniest places in the UK - but that wasn't the case yesterday The UK is set for another day of sweltering conditions today with temperatures due to hit 35C in some areas. Much of England is set to be entering the fifth day of a heatwave. But not everyone will be basking in the toasty temperatures. An amber heat health alert has been extended across England until 9pm on Wednesday, July 2. However, there was quite an incredible contrast in the maximum temperature north and south of the border on Monday, June 30. In London, Heathrow recorded a piping hot 33.1C, while the thermometer only climbed to a meagre 13.7C in the Isle of Tiree in the north of Scotland. That's a near 20C difference from the highest point of the country to the lowest. The disparity is even more staggering due to the fact that Tiree, the westernmost island in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, is often dubbed the ' Hawaii of the North '. Tiree, also known as the Land Below the Waves, is very distinctly placed when it comes to the elements. The island owes much of its unique character to the Gulf Stream, which carries warm currents from the Caribbean across the Atlantic and washes them along Scotland's west coast. Thanks to this oceanic gift, Tiree enjoys some of the mildest weather in the country, and an annual sunshine tally of around 1,500 hours, more than London. Evidently, this stat doesn't seem to have stood up in the last day or so - and it seems this north/south divide is continuing. Looking ahead to how Scotland is going to fare weather-wise this week, Honor Criswick, Met Office Meteorologist, outlined more cloud and some showers for some. She said: "It's been a very hot end to June but is there a change on the way for the beginning of July? It will still be very warm for the next 24 hours or so, but fresher feeling air is on the way. "It will be brighter, too, across western parts of Scotland... but plenty of cloud across eastern parts of Scotland... is where showers could develop. "These could possibly be heavy showers... but across the south and south-east, it will be wall-to-wall blue skies for many areas. It is set to be particularly hot around London, Sussex, Kent, and parts of East Anglia. "This may trigger some heavy showers into the afternoon and we may possibly see some thunderstorms, but these will tend to be located if they do take place." Moving into Wednesday, July 2, showers are predicted to make a comeback across north west parts of Scotland, as we start to see more and more cloud throughout the course of the day, particularly around late afternoon. "Once again there is a chance we could see the odd heavier shower, but it will be feeling fresher across the north with more of a breeze," Honor went on. "Many areas are likely to see a 8-9C difference in temperatures. "It will still be warm in the sunshine, but it's not going to be muggy or uncomfortable. The main shower risk is for the far north of Scotland, where they could be heavy. Otherwise, there'll be fairly similar temperatures to Tuesday. Still that fresher feeling air across the north but temperatures still mid to high teens." The end of the week will see most of the north/south split, as on Friday, July 4, wet and windy weather will drift in across Scotland, possibly bringing blustery outbreaks. Annoyingly, temperatures in the high teens will be offset by this unsettled weather, although the country will face largely similar conditions to Wednesday and Thursday. The weekend is set to kick off with more cloud and rain on Saturday, as well as showery outbreaks. "There will perhaps be more high cloud creating hazy conditions at times, otherwise it'll generally be a pleasant end to the week," Honor added promisingly. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
The Gulf Stream is on the verge of COLLAPSING, scientists warn - as they find the first concrete evidence of major ocean circulation system weakening
In the 2004 film 'The Day After Tomorrow', Earth enters a sudden period of flash freezing due to the collapse of the Gulf Stream. People and buildings are buried under mountains of ice and snow, as freezing cold winds whip vehicles into the air. Now, a study has revealed that this could soon become a reality. Scientists from the University of California, Riverside, have warned that the Gulf Stream has been weakening for more than 100 years - and could soon collapse altogether. The Gulf Stream is only a small part of a much wider system of currents, officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', AMOC transports warm, salty water near the ocean's surface northwards from the tropics up to the northern hemisphere, keeping Europe, the UK and the US east coast temperate. Worryingly, if the AMOC does collapse, it could plunge large parts of Europe into a deep freeze - with parts of the UK dropping to as low as -30°C. 'This work shows the AMOC has been weakening for more than a century. That trend is likely to continue if greenhouse gases keep rising,' said Professor Wei Liu, an author of the study. The researchers point to a strange patch of cold water south of Greenland and Iceland, about 1,000 miles wide, that really shouldn't be there. Unlike the water surrounding it, this 'stubborn' patch of cold water has resisted global warming for more than a century, long fueling debate amongst scientists. Now, the new study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, finally links it to a long-term weakening of the AMOC. 'People have been asking why this cold spot exists; we found the most likely answer is a weakening AMOC,' said lead study author Wei Liu. Lui and a colleague analysed about 100 years of salinity and temperature data, which can be used to understand the strength of the AMOC. When the AMOC slows down, less heat and salt reach the North Atlantic, leading to cooler, fresher, less salty surface waters. From these long-term salinity and temperature records, they reconstructed changes in the circulation system and compared those with nearly 100 different climate models. They found that only the models simulating a weakened AMOC matched the real-world data – indicating that a weakened AMOC was the only possible cause for the blob. While previous studies have offered evidence that the AMOC is weakening, this anomalous blob in the Atlantic offers physical, tangible evidence What is the AMOC? The Gulf Stream is a small part of a much wider system of currents, officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC. Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', it transports warm water near the ocean's surface northwards - from the tropics to the northern hemisphere. When the warm water reaches the North Atlantic (Europe and the UK, and the US east coast), it releases the heat and then freezes. As this ice forms, salt is left behind in the ocean water. Due to the large amount of salt in the water, it becomes denser, sinks, and is carried southwards – back towards the tropics – in the depths below. Eventually, the water gets pulled back up towards the surface and warms up in a process called upwelling, completing the cycle. Scientists think AMOC brings enough warmth to the northern hemisphere that without it, large parts of Europe could enter a deep freeze. Professor Li described it as a 'very robust correlation', adding: 'If you look at the observations and compare them with all the simulations, only the weakened-AMOC scenario reproduces the cooling in this one region.' Until now, some climate scientists had thought the random cool patch south of Greenland has been due to atmospheric factors such as aerosol pollution. But computer models testing this theory have before now failed to recreate the actual, observed cooling – as these experts have done with the now-proven AMOC theory. The team say the study strengthens future climate forecasts, especially those concerning Europe, where the influence of the AMOC is most pronounced. While previous studies have offered evidence that the AMOC is weakening, this anomalous blob in the Atlantic offers physical, tangible evidence. Professor Liu emphasized the complexity of the AMOC's role in the global climate, but warned what a total collapse of the system could mean. 'The overall impact on ecosystems and weather patterns, both in the Arctic and globally, could still be severe,' he said. Professor David Thornalley, a climate scientist at University College London who was not involved with the study, said temperatures would plummet if the AMOC collapsed. 'An AMOC collapse could cause more weather extremes, so as well as overall colder-than-average conditions, we also expect that there would be more winter storms caused by stronger westerly winds,' he previously told MailOnline. Why could the AMOC collapse? Scientists think melting glaciers could cause the collapse of the AMOC, the system of ocean currents. Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', the AMOC transports warm water near the ocean's surface northwards – from the tropics up to the northern hemisphere. Prior studies have already shown that due to climate change, the AMOC is slowing down. The engine of this conveyor belt is off the coast of Greenland, where, as more ice melts from climate change , more freshwater flows into the North Atlantic and slows everything down. 'Unfortunately people would die due to stronger winter storms and flooding, and many old and young would be vulnerable to the very cold winter temperatures.' In the UK, the effects could be 'minor' compared with elsewhere around the world, Professor Thornalley added. 'A collapse in AMOC would cause a shift in the tropical rainfall belt which would massively disrupt agriculture and water supplies across huge swathes of the globe,' he said. 'Many millions would be affected and suffer from drought, famine and flooding, in countries that are already struggling to deal with these issues. There would be huge numbers of climate refugees, geopolitical tensions would rise.' Jonathan Bamber, a professor of Earth observation at the University of Bristol, agreed that if the AMOC were to collapse, the climate of northwest Europe would be 'unrecognisable compared to what it is today'. 'It would be several degrees cooler so that winters would be more typical of Arctic Canada and precipitation would decrease also,' he told MailOnline. 'Very harsh, cold winters would certainly be a threat to life.' In 'The Day After Tomorrow', a collapse of the AMOC takes place over a matter of days and the fictional weather immediately switches to extreme cold. Thankfully, such a rapid transition will not happen in real life, said Penny Holliday, head of marine physics and ocean circulation at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. 'If the AMOC does reach a tipping point it will happen over several decades at least,' she told MailOnline. 'However a slowdown of the AMOC, whether it is fast-acting or takes place over many decades, will lead to the generation of more extreme and violent weather systems that have the potential to cause deaths and major damage.' Last week, another team of scientists reported temperatures could plunge to -30°C in Scotland if the AMOC collapsed, with Edinburgh spending nearly half of the year with a minimum temperature of below 0°C. London, meanwhile, would experience cold extremes of -19°C and record over two months' worth of additional days with sub-zero temperatures compared to the late 19th century. Is 'The Day After Tomorrow' an accurate portrayal of the future? Paleoclimate records constructed from Greenland ice cores have revealed that AMOC circulation has, indeed, shut down in the past and caused regional climate change, according to the University of Illinois. It caused the area around Greenland to cool by 44 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 2004 film 'The Day After Tomorrow,' New York City's temperature dramatically dropped to a point that a deep freeze appeared within a day. Even a second outside and the movie's characters would freeze to death. Scientists say the film plays up the shift, which would take decades to see, but note temperatures would dramatically decrease along the eastern US coast. Winters would become colder and storms more frequent that would linger longer throughout the year if the AMOC would come to a halt today. However, scientist say it isn't the cold temperatures that we should prepare for, it will be the rise in sea levels that will have the largest impact. The increase would be caused by water piling up along the east coast that would have been pushed away by the northward surface flow. But with AMOC weakened, or at a stop, experts say sea levels around the North Atlantic Basin could experience a rise up to nearly 20 inches. This would eventually push people living along the coast from their homes and further inland to escape flooding. A weakened AMOC would also decrease the amount of rainfalls in the North Atlantic that would cause intense droughts in areas that rarely experience such events.
