Weather

Are Hurricanes Getting Stronger?

FLORIDA, USA – The brutal wind and torrential rainfall of Hurricane Milton that killed 17 people in Florida this week were worsened by human-caused climate change.

Published

1 year ago

October 14, 2024

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FLORIDA, USA – The brutal wind and torrential rainfall of Hurricane Milton that killed 17 people in Florida this week were worsened by human-caused climate change.

That’s the recent findings of a team of international scientists.

As Florida residents like Crystal Coleman eyed a daunting recovery effort after hurricane Milton, many said the storm’s wrath was unlike anything they’d seen before.

The brutal wind and heavy rainfall that battered the state was made worse by human-caused climate change. That’s according to a team of international scientists known as World Weather Attribution.

Their analysis showed that global warming made wind speeds around 10% stronger and rainfall between 20% and 30% greater.

In less than 24 hours, Milton intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm.

The National Hurricane Center said that made it the third-fastest intensifying Atlantic hurricane on record.

Flood scientist Hannah Cloke said the storm fed off record- and near-record-warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Milton is the second category 5 hurricane this season.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there have only been five other years since 1950 that registered more than one Category 5 hurricane in one season.

In light of extremely warm surface-water temperatures around Florida and the Caribbean, forecasters expected a supercharged Atlantic hurricane season, with between four and seven major storms.