HURRICANE SEASON IS ALMOST HERE! Dorian has come and gone, fortunately leaving Alabama mostly unscarred. Others will follow. I live in the relatively (formerly?) moderate clime of the Pacific Northwest. Ou climate has also changed: We now have massive thunder and lightning storms—which used to be a relatively novel experience—and we are in the fifth year of drought that doesn’t get much attention because it’s mild compared to, say, California.
But we don’t really have to worry about hurricanes much.
Yet.
The Reality Now email-newsletter delivers the latest updates on the climate solutions movement straight to your inbox. The September 2019 edition features “Hurricanes And The Climate Crisis: What You Need To Know” from the Climate Reality Project. The article’s sub-title is, “The bottom line: warmer temperatures create a greater chance of more intense storms.”
Here are the opening paragraphs of “Hurricanes And The Climate Crisis: What You Need To Know”:
“Hurricane season is upon us—and this one could be a doozy. After initially predicting a pretty typical Atlantic hurricane season, in terms of the number of expected named and major storms, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently revised its forecast, increasing the likelihood of an above-average hurricane season from 30 percent to 45 percent.
This means residents of the Caribbean and those living along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coastlines shouldn’t let their guard down—and forecasters warn, there appears to be an increased chance of more major hurricanes:
The overall number of predicted storms is also greater with NOAA now expecting 10-17 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 5-9 will become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater), including 2-4 major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). This updated outlook is for the entire six-month hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.
There’s little evidence to suggest that climate change actually creates more hurricanes. Indeed, NOAA itself explains that the revised forecast has more to do with diminished El Nino activity in the Pacific.
But there is abundant information indicating our changing climate is supercharging more and more of the ones that do form. And from Hurricanes Maria and Irma to Michael and Harvey, these storms are bringing almost unimaginable devastation much more frequently as a result.”
To read the rest of this article, click HERE.
There’s little evidence suggesting climate change creates more hurricanes but warmer temperatures do create a greater chance of more intense storms. Click To Tweet
FEATURED IMAGE: The photo at the top of this page is from the Climate Reality Project article and is uncredited. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that it was taken in Florida.
