Here’s why – Hurricanes in the Atlantic are now more frequent than at any time in the last thousand years. The frequency of intense hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean over the last 1,500 years has been closely linked to long-term changes in the El Nino and global warming, both of which affect sea surface temperature.
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Thanks to new kind of El Nino – El Nino years typically result in fewer hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean. But a new study suggests that the form of El Nino may be changing potentially causing not only a greater number of hurricanes than in average years, but also a greater chance of hurricanes making landfall.
That’s because this new type of El Nimo, known as El Nino Modoki (from the Japanese meaning “similar, but different”), forms in the Central Pacific, rather than the Eastern Pacific as the typical El Nino event does. Warming in the Central Pacific is associated with a higher storm frequency and a greater potential for making landfall along the Gulf coast and the coast of Central America.
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and why Gustav wasn’t as bad as Katrina – The theory that global warming may be contributing to stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic over the past 30 years is bolstered by a new study.
Using global satellite data, researchers James B. Elsner, James P. Kossin and Thomas H. Jagger found that the strongest tropical cyclones are, in fact, getting stronger?and that ocean temperatures play a role in driving this trend. Elsner says, “As seas warm, the ocean has more energy that can be converted to tropical cyclone wind.”
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?but that ones that DO occur will be more powerful – A surprising study shows that in the future, when the world is warmer, there will be fewer hurricanes like the terrible cyclone that devastated Myanmar?NOT more. This is because earth is heating up with such unexpected speed that the heat is reaching the stratosphere far faster than expected.
This means that there will be less of a temperature difference between the lower and upper atmosphere, and it is this difference that creates storms. Unfortunately, it is also what drives the jet streams, which will become sluggish and then stop if the heating continues. Without jet streams to clear the air, many large cities will quickly become unlivable.
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