Essentially yes. For the reasons discussed in this video, the stable trade winds and coastal upwelling are very strong and extend deep into the tropics in the South Atlantic. There really isn't enough time for tropical cyclones to form in a favorable environment as the trade winds head to Brazil. Notice on the distribution map that in the South Pacific, where there is also supercharged upwelling and cool, fast trade winds, it also takes a lot of time for tropical cyclones to form as you move westward.

That is very interesting, never heard that! Makes a lot of sense.

It was, but Casual Earth meant strongest in terms of wind speed and/or air pressure. Freddy was a very strong storm, but it didn’t even come close to the peak intensities of either Tip or Patricia.

(1) The eastern side of South Africa is in a rain shadow in winter and is not in a good position to receive westerly sources of precipitation. The southern coast is in a good position to receive both the rain from oceanic winter cyclones passing below in the westerlies, and the southeasterly humid summer moisture--hence they're oceanic. South Africa's terrain is pretty significant and does a good job preventing Atlantic moisture from reaching the east. (2) The difference between 34 S and 32 S latitude is pretty significant for winter storm tracks. They're going to affect the areas at 32 S much less often. (3) Winter cyclones are frequent in the ocean to the south, but compared to many parts of the world their storm tracks take a more narrow and predictable route. There's less interruption and interference--the westerlies just race by below S. Africa, carrying their cyclones unabated and unaltered by landmasses.

@@casualearth9076 thanks a lot for your time to respond to my question. You explained it pretty nicely, just a small follow up : are winter cyclones and westerly winds the same thing ?

@@aykuno25romer77 Midlatitude cyclones are embedded in the westerly winds. They travel in a westerly direction due to the prevailing westerly wind belt, which moves seasonally--it's at higher latitudes in summer and moves into lower latitudes in winter.

Actually with El Niño/La Niña, it's specifically referring to the area west of South America at the equator and northward (beside Peru & Chile). La Niña is when the upwelling is stronger than average, while El Niño is when it's weaker than average.

Clipperton tends to be a little too far south for these storm tracks much of the time.

Great questions, I've always been fascinated by the Adriatic and northern Italy! 1. Water. The water on the Venetian side of the Adriatic has more nutrients and sediment put out by rivers crossing the flat and fertile Po Plain. The suspended sediment can create a cloudy appearance, and the nutrients feed phytoplankton which contributes to a green color. On the other side of the Adriatic, there are smaller rivers entering the sea which crossed more rocky terrain, so they aren’t carrying as much sediment. In addition, the land on the other side of the Adriatic has a lot of limestone. This means a lot of rainwater will rapidly percolate through the rock, instead of becoming runoff which carries sediment into streams (and ultimately the sea). 2. Vegetation. Most of the Po plain gets too much summer rainfall to be classified as a Mediterranean climate-which partly explains the large trees. However, even in true Mediterranean climates you’ll typically find surprisingly large trees (often deciduous) and grasses where there is deep and fertile soil. For instance, the Central Valley of California has a severe summer dry season but was dominated by a mixture of large deciduous and evergreen oak trees and grasses. The Po Plain is also charged with groundwater and rivers pouring down from the surrounding mountains, so even the trees which need a lot of water (like Black Alder) can thrive there. Shrubby maquis vegetation, on the other hand, dominates many areas with thin and rocky soil, in a wide variety of climates around the world. 3. Climate. Istria will tend to have milder summer weather than the Po plain due to westerly winds coming off of the Adriatic. In winter, both the Po plain and Istria can experience severe cold weather when winds come from a northeasterly direction, over the lower mountains of Croatia and Slovenia. However, during these cold events Istria is more likely to experience very dry and sunny weather, while the opposite side of the Adriatic (receiving saturated winds that crossed the sea) will more likely experience some snow/rain/fog/cloud cover. This is an important difference for the olive trees-they survive a dry -13 C more effectively than a humid -5 C. Farther inland on the Po Plain, there is also frequently a cold air pool/inversion with fog. This is caused by anticyclonic conditions driving cold air from a northeasterly direction into the area, and the mountains on three sides cause the cold air to pool. At the northern margin of olive cultivation, it’s actually particularly important to avoid flat areas with temperature inversions like this. Istria has hilly terrain, allowing farmers to keep their olive groves out of frost pockets more effectively. In areas around the Po Plain, there is some rare olive cultivation--but almost always on hilly ground, not on the plain itself (Euganean Hills, etc.).

I wondered the exact same thing, but I couldn't find much about this question specifically. In general the island is very poorly researched and needs more investigation.

@@casualearth9076 that’s a shame, hopefully some young scientists see this video and become inspired

Definitely! Most of these actually were on my excessive list in some form or another. I definitely was going to talk about the Leeuwin current and its effects on Western Australia. My exploration of the Red Sea was going to focus more on mangroves, but for similar reasons plus a discussion of mangroves in arid climates. I definitely plan on talking more about those foggy forests of Ecuador and the Galapagos and the evolution of nebulophytes at low altitudes. All good things to consider!

Yes, the southern Baja peninsula in particular is a pretty cyclone-prone area and is mostly fairly arid.

That would be good! Definitely will read more about those. I will admit I got sidetracked during the making of this video and did a deep dive on the tropical cyclones that hit southern California. I just thought it was interesting that southern California/northern Baja are in this sweet spot where they're vulnerable to atmospheric rivers as well as tropical cyclone remnants.

This year there was a cyclone that managed to reach nearly 2 degress south of the equator, it was Ialy and the first storm on modern record to affect Kenya itself directly

I used a Blue Yeti this time (have had it since the beginning, but was frustrated with the noise until I got Izotope RX to treat that). I always wondered what the best volume setting would be, and I guess given what a few people have said I have it too low. As far as visuals, I know it's my weak point. Unfortunately, there's less I can do about that. Atlas Pro is, first and foremost, a filmmaker with tons of experience in animation. Animation takes a very long time, and time is something I already struggle with. I will never get an audience like Atlas Pro, but that's completely fine by me--I'd rather have more time to cover more topics. I do plan on getting more live film on-site in the future, once I've gotten my summers 100% free (I am becoming an educator), and that can at least liven up the maps and diagrams.