Normally I don't dive into spirituality let alone try to use it to explain why certain meteorological phenomena happen. However, Hurricane Isaac has become a hot button topic due to its name and its path.
This is why I want to devote this blog post to the similarities that Isaac has with a certain "mystical" figure. This figure had an entire empire devoted to his cause, his strength, and his might. Entire legions feared the might and the power of Isaac. And the life cycle of Isaac is remarkably similar to this mystical figure.
This mystical figure......is Frieza.
Hurricane Isaac ruled the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico on its own, suppressing its true strength until just before landfall. Isaac had one of the lowest central pressures for a tropical storm that had not yet reached hurricane strength, at 976mb. Due to dry air entrainment into its central core, Isaac used its energy to expand its wind field and lower the pressure gradient between its center and the outside environment. A ragged eye kept forming and then collapsing due to the dry air entrainment. Tropical storms are warm core systems; the strongest winds are found at the lower/mid levels of the system instead of the upper level. Tropical cyclones derive their energy from the latent heat release from condensing water vapor. Water vapor condensing releases heat into the core, and this warmth exchange keeps the center of circulation buoyant to allow for more vertical growth. Since the bulk of latent heat release is in the lower/mid levels, the greatest temperature contrast between the core and the environment is at the lower/mid levels. Dry air encourages evaporation, and anyone who has gotten out of a shower before without a towel rapidly gets cold from heat being removed. Dry air cools the warm core nature of the system, and hence why it inhibited the wind field from contracting within Isaac.
Frieza had so much power that He himself could not control it, and thus transformed into a weaker state because He himself feared being unable to control his own power. This is one similarity that Isaac has with Frieza. Both kept their maximum power suppressed until just before the end.
Above: Isaac and Frieza in their weaker forms: the birth of two tyrants.
We saw many forms of Isaac, from a weakened tropical storm over
Hispanola to a mid level category one hurricane at landfall. Frieza
himself had many forms over his lifetime, each of which became more
fearsome.
At the time of reckoning, Isaac made landfall on the southeast coast of
Louisiana and drifted back out into the Gulf of Mexico before stalling
just off shore for 12 hours. Goku himself had just five minutes to fight the Tyrant and put an end to his galactic conquest but this would take 20 episodes to complete. And thus, Isaac maintained its peak
intensity for much longer than those thought, due to its central core
*finally* contracting. A contracting eyewall conserves its angular
momentum when encountering rough surface friction (from land). Thus,
Isaac was able to maintain its peak intensity despite land interaction.
Isaac would bring a surge of power in the form of storm surge, despite
appearing to only be a category one storm.
Frieza himself landed on a dry planet that would make it difficult to
support life, just as Isaac had to contend with dry air penetrating its
core. This planet
was the planet Namek and He would search for eternal life with the
Dragonballs
Isaac would put up a valiant fight with the land interaction, with an excellent outflow and plentiful moisture now pumping into its core. But Isaac alas, was being steered by a calm nature system, known as an upper level ridge. This ridge (Goku) would slowly but surely deprive Isaac (Frieza) of its power and might.
And it did. As Isaac moved farther away from the Gulf of Mexico, its source of power dwindled, and Isaac was downgraded to a tropical depression soon after.
 |
| The ridge (Midwest) that provided the steering currents for Isaac |
Even after losing most of its power, Isaac was still a threat and promoted heavy flooding inland Louisiana and Arkansas. Fortunately, the Mississippi River was at a low level when the rain fell, or otherwise the flooding would have been far worse along the river.
The circulation of Isaac was ripped in half by an upper level trough. Half of the circulation was carried along with the parent trough while the lower half would be removed entirely from the trough and left behind. This would be the last we heard from Isaac.
The Dragonballs were used to send everyone but Goku and Frieza back to
Earth, leaving the two stranded on a dying planet to battle it out!
Frieza for a time contended against Goku but He would falter and weaken.
Goku decided to call off the fight, but Frieza would not. Unfortunately
for Frieza, he would be sliced in half and left to die.
Isaac was no more. Frieza was no more. But left behind were memories of the suffering and destruction each left behind.
But alas, this would not be the end of either.
 |
| The split! Southern circulation of Isaac (over Alabama) and northern circulation (over Ohio) |
 |
| The split! Frieza is sliced in half! |
Frieza would be discovered nearly dead floating in space, when He was picked up by none other than King COLD himself. He would be put into a rejuvenation chamber and rebuilt. He would become faster and stronger than he was before. Incidentally, Goku's warm hearted nature in sparing Frieza's life would come back to haunt him.
Isaac was left to dissipate over Missouri/Illinois/Indiana, having merged with an upper level trough. It would seem that its identity would be lost forever. However a COLD core cutoff low approaching Florida would help steer the remaining circulation back towards the Gulf of Mexico. Incidentally, the lack of shear within the upper level ridge steering Isaac inland would be what kept the lower/mid circulation intact.
 |
| The COLD core low, what helped the remnant southern half of Isaac to move back towards the Gulf of Mexico |
 |
| King COLD, who saved the remains of Frieza and saved His life. |
Frieza would be made faster and stronger than before. Isaac is now moving back out over the Gulf of Mexico. Whether it will be renamed Isaac or named a new system entirely is the question, but one thing remains. A piece of Isaac is alive. And there are projections that it may reform back into a depression status.
However this depression is projected to not last very long and be ripped to pieces, never to be brought back again (except to send heavy rain back over Florida.
 |
| The southern fragment of Isaac, moving back out over the Gulf of Mexico. |
 |
| Isaac two day projection (closed low over the Gulf) |
 |
| And by day 5, Isaac is cut to pieces by a strong approaching trough, making its resurrection short lived. |
 |
| And Frieza is cut to pieces, by a super saiyan named Trunks, making His resurrection short lived. |
