Intertropical Convergence Zone it is sometimes referred to as a monsoon trough, a usage more common in Australia and parts of Asia. In the seamen's speech, the zone is referred to as the doldrums because of its erratic (monotonous) weather patterns with stagnant calms and violent thunderstorms. The ITCZ appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms, that encircle the globe near the Equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds move in a southwestward direction from the northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they move northwestward from the southeast. When the ITCZ is positioned north or south of the Equator, these directions
Tropical Storm Cristobal (2002) system over the Mid-Atlantic States produced rip currents and 4 foot (1.2 m) waves along the south shore of Long Island, New York; three people drowned from the rip currents. Two ships recorded tropical storm force winds in association with the storm; the vessel with the sign WUQL reported sustained winds of 47 mph (76 km/h) from the west-southwest on August 7. Tropical Storm Cristobal (2002) Tropical Storm Cristobal was a relatively weak tropical cyclone that meandered in the western Atlantic Ocean prior to being absorbed into a frontal zone. The third named storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season,