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‘If meteorologists could stop hurricanes, we would.’ Here’s why humans still can’t control the weather

A fully developed hurricane releases heat energy that is the equivalent of a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes — more than all the energy used at a given time by humanity, according to National Hurricane Center tropical analysis chief Chris Landsea. And scientists are now finding many ways climate change is making hurricanes worse, with warmer oceans that add energy and more water in the warming atmosphere to fall as rain, said Chris Field, director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “The amount of energy a hurricane generates is insane,” said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. It’s the height of human arrogance to think people have the…

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Featured

 Hurricanes: Storms from the Sea

What we call a “hurricane” is called a “typhoon” in Asia and a “cyclone” in the South Pacific. But they’re all the same thing: a rotating storm that forms in the tropics (near the equator) and has winds of at least 120 kilometers per hour (74 mph).

 What to Do Before the Tropical Storm or Hurricane

It is vital to understand your home's vulnerability to storm surge, flooding, and wind. Here is your checklist of things to do BEFORE hurricane seasons begins.

Articles of Interest

The health impacts of storms like Hurricane Ian exact a toll on public health long after the skies clear

An environmental health expert on the long-term toll of extreme storms. Routine healthcare can get interrupted as hospitals grapple with damage, leading to a worsening of chronic conditions. Waterborne illnesses, such as cholera or leptospirosis, can spread more easily as homes, streets and businesses flood. Mold from water damage can spark or exacerbate allergies and asthma. And mental health can suffer as survivors grapple with loss of loved ones or property.

These longer-term impacts often get less attention than a hurricane’s immediate destruction. Upticks in preterm births or respiratory illness are also harder to directly link to a storm than drownings or blunt force trauma from flying debris. But as climate change threatens to make hurricanes more damaging, these more diffuse impacts will become even more important to understand.

Here's how many Category 5 hurricanes have hit the mainland U.S.

According to the National Hurricane Center, there have been an estimated 42 tropical cyclones that have reached Category 5 status in the Atlantic Basin since 1924 — the most recent being Hurricane Milton, which is churning toward Florida's Gulf Coast with winds that reached 180 mph.

How climate change makes hurricanes more destructive

As our climate warms, we’re experiencing stronger winds, higher storm surges and record rainfalls during hurricane season — which is also why these storms are becoming more destructive and costly.

Hurricanes are intensifying more rapidly – and the most vulnerable communities are hit hardest

Hurricanes are more frequently escalating quickly, and the places they destroy may be those disadvantaged by racist housing policy

What are hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones?

Hurricanes combine unyielding winds and torrential rain to create some of Earth’s most powerful storms. When hurricanes near land, wind can cause devastating damage, even spawning tornadoes. But the bigger danger is rain, which can cause catastrophic, and often deadly, flooding. These storms gain energy from warm water and its winds whirl in a characteristic circular motion. Tropical storms are named once winds pass 39 miles per hour, and are deemed hurricanes when winds pass 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes are rated by categories on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The same type of storm has different names depending on the region of the world: “hurricanes” develop over the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, “cyclones” form over the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, and “typhoons“ develop in the Northwest Pacific.

After the Hurricanes, Can We Rebuild a Stronger, Greener Grid?

Post-earthquake Japan and monsoon-battered India aren’t just repairing their grids. They’re improving them. It’s time for hurricane-battered Americans to do the same.

By the Time Science Can Pin Hurricanes on Global Warming, Will It Be Too Late?

We don't have time for scientists to gather definitive evidence linking climate change to big storms.

Category 6 Hurricanes: Is There Such a Thing?

Category 5 is the highest category at the moment, but many experts have suggested that as hurricanes get more powerful due to climate change we may need to expand to a Category 6.

Climate change did not “cause” Harvey or Irma, but it’s a huge part of the story

The recent Category 4 hurricanes making landfall in the US have revived the perennial discussion about the relationship between extreme storms and climate change. Despite what you might think from the dueling headlines, it’s actually a fairly complicated issue — complicated not just because of the physics, but because of the politics.

From Katrina To Harvey: How Disaster Relief Is Evolving With Technology

Open data and social networks like Snapchat and Facebook have helped FEMA react more quickly and effectively.

Hidden Health Hazards After Hurricanes: What To Expect After Harvey

After the immediate damage and loss of life from Hurricane Harvey, many hazards remain, and infectious outbreaks will likely follow.

How To Build Hurricane-Proof Cities

In the age of climate change, the only way to protect the American coastal metropolis is to rethink it entirely.

Hurricane Science: Ingredients for the Perfect Storm

A video on why August and September mark peak hurricane season in the Atlantic basin.

Hurricanes and Climate Change

Climate change is worsening hurricane impacts in the United States by increasing the intensity and decreasing the speed at which they travel. Scientists are currently uncertain whether there will be a change in the number of hurricanes, but they are certain that the intensity and severity of hurricanes will continue to increase.

Inside the world's largest hurricane simulator

At the University of Miami Rosentiel School, hurricanes are occurring indoors every day. The hurricane simulator allows researchers to test the interaction between air and water and to study the impact of hurricanes in the future.

Stranded by Maria, Puerto Ricans Get Creative to Survive

Three weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, people across the island, especially those in remote areas, are improvising ways to stay alive.

The Irony of How Hurricanes Move

There’s a reason forecasters still track the giant storms by hand.

The Long-Term Health Consequences of Hurricane Harvey

Long after the floodwaters recede, and even during cleanup and rebuilding, the people who lived through Hurricane Harvey will face another form of recovery — from the storm’s blows to physical and mental health.

What We Know about the Climate Change–Hurricane Connection

Some links are indisputable; others are more subtle, but the science is improving all the time.

Why Counting Casualties After a Hurricane Is So Hard

Indirect deaths—such as those caused by gaps in medication—can occur months after a storm, complicating tallies.

Why Hurricane Maria is such a nightmare for Puerto Rico

“It was as if a 50- to 60-mile-wide tornado raged across Puerto Rico.”

Resources

Double punch of hurricanes could become common due to climate crisis

As the planet continues to warm, primarily due to emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, back-to-back hurricanes are expected to become more common. In some areas, including the Gulf coast, such one-two punches could occur as often as once every three years, according to a 2023 article from researchers at Princeton University.

National Hurricane Center

To save lives, mitigate property loss, and improve economic efficiency by issuing the best watches, warnings, forecasts and analyses of hazardous tropical weather, and by increasing understanding of these hazards.

National Weather Service

While hurricanes pose the greatest threat to life and property, tropical storms and depression also can be devastating. The primary hazards from tropical cyclones (which include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) are storm surge flooding, inland flooding from heavy rains, destructive winds, tornadoes, and high surf and rip currents.