<blockquote>
<p>Sea surface temperatures warm dramatically as one moves toward the western Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, where the water is protected from mixing and exposed to fierce subtropical summer sun. Despite this fuel for tropical cyclones, none has ever been recorded in the Persian Gulf, mainly because of persistent wind shear and dry air. However, the idea was explored in “Grey swan tropical cyclones”, a fascinating study by Ning Lin and Kerry Emanuel published in Nature Climate Change in 2015. By “seeding” the region’s observed climate of 1980-2010 with 3100 weak, randomly positioned tropical cyclones, then modeling those cyclones, the authors found that at least two grew to formidable strength in the Persian Gulf, including one stronger than any observed on Earth to date!</p>
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<p><a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/10/shaheen-headed-for-historic-landfall-in-oman/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/10/shaheen-headed-for-historic-landfall-in-oman/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-06T02:14:02.443Z
2021-10-06T02:14:02.443Z
Keith McClary
<p>Historically cyclones were very very rare along the southern coast of Iran, maybe one in a century. But in recent years two cyclones hit Iran and northern Oman: Cyclone Gonu in 2007 and recently cyclone Shaheen. The Persian Gulf water temperature is very high in the summer and the beginning of spring. Even a 36 centigrade degree water temperature was recorded off Kharg Island. So what happens if a cyclone can reach to such very warm water?</p>

<climate-change><cyclone>
What happens if a cyclone can reach the warm waters of the Persian Gulf?
user24591
# What happens if a cyclone can reach the warm waters of the Persian Gulf?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-05)

Historically cyclones were very very rare along the southern coast of Iran, maybe one in a century. But in recent years two cyclones hit Iran and northern Oman: Cyclone Gonu in 2007 and recently cyclone Shaheen. The Persian Gulf water temperature is very high in the summer and the beginning of spring. Even a 36 centigrade degree water temperature was recorded off Kharg Island. So what happens if a cyclone can reach to such very warm water?

**Tags:** climate-change, cyclone


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-10-06. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

> Sea surface temperatures warm dramatically as one moves toward the western Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, where the water is protected from mixing and exposed to fierce subtropical summer sun. Despite this fuel for tropical cyclones, none has ever been recorded in the Persian Gulf, mainly because of persistent wind shear and dry air. However, the idea was explored in “Grey swan tropical cyclones”, a fascinating study by Ning Lin and Kerry Emanuel published in Nature Climate Change in 2015. By “seeding” the region’s observed climate of 1980-2010 with 3100 weak, randomly positioned tropical cyclones, then modeling those cyclones, the authors found that at least two grew to formidable strength in the Persian Gulf, including one stronger than any observed on Earth to date!

<https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/10/shaheen-headed-for-historic-landfall-in-oman/>


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