What it Means When an Area in the Ocean is Designated as an Invest

With the tropical weather action in the Eastern Pacific firing up in recent weeks and the Atlantic basin activity not expected to be far behind, this is a good time to go over a few informative hurricane terms. Here is a look at what the term "invest" means when used in tropical weather circles.

Understanding the Term "Invest"

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) uses the term "invest" as a naming convention that identifies features that are worthy of further monitoring. The term is short for "investigation," meaning that the area is showing signs that it could develop into a future tropical depression or storm.

It is important to understand that the identification of an invest does not always mean that the system will evolve into a named feature. Most invests are typically growing clusters of rain showers or thunderstorms that have yet to develop a low-level area of circulation. Some invests are identified as they begin to show signs of formal organization.

The moniker "invest" is followed by a number ranging between 90 and 99. A letter then follows the number. The first identified invest of the season begins with the number 90, going up a digit with each subsequent invest. The numbers start back at 90 after it reaches 99, continuing the cycle.

The letter after the number is used to designate the part of the basin where the invest is located. The letter "L" is used for invests in the Northern Atlantic. Conversely, the letter "E" is used for invests that come to life in the Eastern Pacific. Each basin uses a different naming system, meaning that it is possible that Invest 90L and Invest 90E could exist at the same time.

What Happens When an Invest is Identified

The NHC details that its formal designation of a tropical weather system with the name of an invest means that it will begin to collect data related to the area of interest. This is also when the monitoring by computer models ratchets up a notch.

The monitoring includes the use of specialized Hurricane Hunter aircraft that fly into the cluster of storms to gather data. Additionally, the NHC begins to issue its iconic spaghetti model tracks when an invest is officially identified.

Despite all of the attention given to invests, the NHC does not use them in the overall statistics for the season. That said, it is still a good idea to stay abreast of when invests are identified if you live in an area that is vulnerable to tropical weather.

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