Study finds more hurricanes occurring in past 30 years
Climate change a possible factor
WASHINGTON — It’s not just this year. The monster hurricanes that have raged across the Atlantic are contributing to what appears to be the most active period for major storms on record.
An analysis of 167 years of federal storm data by The Associated Press found that no 30-year period in history has seen this many major hurricanes, this many days of those whoppers spinning in the Atlantic, or this much overall energy generated by those storms.
Scientists caution it is too soon to draw conclusions from the data and they don’t say the intense activity confirms a trend. Storms in the distant past may have gone unnoticed, which could make earlier generations appear quieter than they were.
But more intense storms are what scientists expect to see as the planet’s climate changes because warmer ocean water is fuel for hurricanes.
Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said it would be “foolish” for policymakers to ignore the data. “We may not have as much data as we would like, but we have enough to aggressively invest in a variety of defenses for coastal communities,” she said in an email. “We face a triple threat of rising seas, stronger winds and literally off-the-charts rainfall totals.”
The Atlantic hurricane season was more intense than normal in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016.
The 2005 season, which included Katrina, Rita and Wilma, was so active forecasters ran out of names for storms.
Then came this year. Fueled by warmer-thannormal ocean temperatures and ideal wind conditions, September had more days with major hurricanes spinning and more overall hurricane energy than any month on record, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
“There’s no question that the storms are stronger than they were 30 years ago,” said NOAA climate and hurricane scientist James Kossin. “The questions are, if you go back a little further if that’s what you’ll find.”