Global warming makes little impact on number of hurricanes, major effects on flooding - wpde.com
Global warming makes little impact on number of hurricanes, major effects on flooding | WPDE
SOUTH CAROLINA, (WPDE) — It's that time of year again when hurricanes and tropical storms form threatening devastation in their wake.
According to Colorado State University, this year there are expected to be 15 tropical storms, seven of which could turn into hurricanes and three have the potential to become major hurricanes, which is a category three or higher.
ABC15's Chief Meteorologist Ed Piotrowski said even with global warming, that number is not out of the ordinary.
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"Over the past 50 years, it's been a flat line. We have not seen an increase in tropical storms or hurricanes and we think that's because of wind shear. And with wind shear continuing, we think the overall numbers may actually go down over the next 100 years," Piotrowski said.
Wind shear is the increase in wind the higher in the atmosphere.
"That's one thing that will destroy a tropical storm or hurricane no matter how warm the water is. So on a warming globe, we're seeing more wind sheer which can actually reduce the numbers," Piotrowski said.
But while there may not be an increase in the number of storms this season, the leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Seasonal Hurricane Outlook, Matthew Rosencrans said climate change is leading to more coastal flooding.
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"It's related to the sea level rise. So when a storm is starting with an already higher sea level, it's that much easier to push that water inland," Rosencrans said.
Ed said climate change is causing storm systems to move slower leading to more rainfall.
"The number one killer in a hurricane is actually rainfall. 85% of all deaths associated with a hurricane is because of flooding rainfall," he said.
Piotrowski said it only takes one storm to make it a bad season, and people should prepare before a storm makes landfall.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.