Summer time means watching over the horizon for hurricanes.
But when the weather forecasters on your local news talk about hurricane data or the possible formation of a hurricane, tropical storm, or tropical depression, they may use the term ‘invest.’
What does ‘invest’ mean in the world of weather?
The National Hurricane Center defines an invest storm as an area of weather that has gained the interest of a hurricane or tropical storm system forecast organization — like the National Hurricane Center.
An invest storm is the type of storm that will spur the collection of data for further research by government organizations that help monitor and observe the weather.
A weather system for which a tropical cyclone forecast center (NHC, CPHC, or JTWC) is interested in collecting specialized data sets (e.g., microwave imagery) and/or running model guidance. Once a system has been designated as an invest, data collection and processing is initiated on a number of government and academic web sites, including the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (UW-CIMSS). The designation of a system as an invest does not correspond to any particular likelihood of development of the system into a tropical cyclone; operational products such as the Tropical Weather Outlook or the JTWC/TCFA should be consulted for this purpose.
~ National Hurricane Center
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I'm a weather geek from Florida who's been studying meteorology and watching weather patterns for years! I enjoy sharing little-known facts and fun stuff about the weather. I especially like sharing interesting details about weather events and conditions that can affect you… and how to prepare for Mother Nature's ever-changing weather patterns.
