189 



Mexico indicate a significant decrease in surface temperatures following 

 hurricane Carla of 1961. The extent of cooling in this latter case can be 

 Judged by the folloving sea surface temperature statistics for the area 

 26-29°R, 90-96 W. In the i<-day period prior to j^he storm passage there were 

 11 reports of temperatures ranging from 85*^ to 88 F, with a mean value of 

 86.0°F. In the 5-day period following the storm, the reports in the same 

 area ranged from 78^ to 82°F with a mean of 79.6°F. 



In the report cited previously f\J , the conclusion was reached that 

 vertical mixing was the primary factor in the cooling of the surface layers 

 of the ocean during a tropical cyclone . However, in contrast to the results 

 presented in the preceding paper by Leipper, the observations led to the 

 tentative conclusion that mechanical stirring was probably more important 

 than organized upwelling in the cooling process. This conclusion was reached 

 mainly from the observation that cooling was much more pronounced on the 

 right hand of the storm track (Figures 1 and 2) where wind and wave action 

 are known to be most pronounced. 



