Hurricanes Are Set to Intensify More Rapidly and Bring Wetter Storms, New Research Finds

Climate researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have published a new study finding that changing conditions along the U.S. Atlantic Coast are supplying favorable dynamics that allow hurricanes to produce more precipitation, increase coastal flood risk, and rapidly intensify closer to the coastline.

To conduct the study, the researchers utilized data from the past four decades of hurricane activity and the conditions that shaped them. They found that since 1979, the rates at which hurricanes strengthened near the U.S. Atlantic Coast have increased. A warmer world, caused by climate change, is poised to bring hurricanes that intensify quicker and, with them, a heightened risk of flooding to the U.S. Atlantic Coast, according to Karthik Balaguru, one of the study’s authors. Furthermore, the study reveals that hurricane-producing conditions are growing more common along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. The key to this changing environment, said Balaguru, begins with warming. Specifically, the study observed diverging temperatures between the land and the ocean, with the land warming faster. This increasingly strong difference can create stronger storms. According to PNNL, “Over the warmer land, air pressure is lower. Over the cooler sea, air pressure is relatively higher. The higher-pressure air blows inland toward those warmer, lower-pressure areas … as moist air rises inside the hurricane’s core and cools toward the top, water vapor condenses and emits heat. The heat warms nearby air causing it to ascend further. This process invigorates the storm.” This study supports previous research which found that climate change is very likely impacting the intensity of hurricanes. Access the full study here or read a related article at PNNL.