Could Hurricane Matthew interact with Hurricane Nicole?

The path of hurricane Nicole and hurricane Matthew

by: Chelsea Todaro, Palm Beach Post Updated: Oct 6, 2016 - 3:30 AM

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As Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the Florida coast, forecasters now predict that the storm will go back into the Atlantic and head back toward us.

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But as Matthew makes that turn into the Atlantic, it could get in Hurricane Nicole"s path, resulting in both storms interacting with one another. This phenomenon is calledthe Fujiwara effect.

Named after a Japanese meteorologist, this phenomenon can happen when tropical cyclones are less then 900 miles between each other.

>> Read the latest on Hurricane Matthew

But what happens when they collide?

If one storm is stronger and bigger than the other, it will simply "absorb" the storm. But if they are both of similar strengths the two will move around their common mid-point and "dance" around each other, according to weather.about.com.

A recent example of the Fujiwara effect is Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Wilma "absorbed" Tropical Storm Alpha after making landfall in south Florida.

The possibility of this happening with Hurricane Matthew is still "highly speculative," our news partners at WPTV report. But Matthew"s forecasted path is not as odd as people may think.

In 2004 Hurricane Ivan showed a similar path to Matthew, but instead made it"s way into the Gulf of Mexico hitting Alabama. The storm then moved north into the Atlantic Ocean, turning around south to hit Florida, and then moving back into the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall a third time in Louisiana.

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Source: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/water-cooler/could-hurricane-matthew-interact-with-tropical-storm-nicole/454224210