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Tag: Atlantic Hurricane Season

  • The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. Here’s what experts say to expect.

    The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. Here’s what experts say to expect.

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    The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be “near normal” with at least 12 named storms, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted.

    NOAA said ahead of the season’s start it expects 12 to 17 named storms and five to nine hurricanes this year, with one to four major hurricanes.

    “It’s absolutely crucial that all Americans living in potential paths of these storms, even well inland of the coasts, follow NOAA’s guidance for preparation and determine your risk, develop an evacuation plan, and assemble the disaster supplies that you may need,” Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said during a news conference last week.

    The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. When a tropical depression reaches maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph, it is considered a tropical storm and gets a name. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach at least 74 mph, while major hurricanes — Category 3, 4 or 5 — are even more intense. 

    Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has resulted in warming ocean temperatures and other atmospheric conditions that scientists say are making hurricanes more intense.

    NOAA officials said that the effects of climate change could mean that storms yield more precipitation and slightly stronger winds than ever before, citing Hurricane Harvey, which dropped a record 5 feet of water on Texas in 2017.

    The 2022 hurricane season produced 14 named storms, including eight hurricanes and two major hurricanes. According to NOAA, an average hurricane season consists of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

    Even though the number of storms last year was about average, the intensity of those systems was extremely destructive. Just one storm, Hurricane Ian, caused 150 deaths and more than $112 billion in damage after it made landfall as a Category 4 in southwest Florida on Sept. 28. It was the costliest hurricane in Florida history and the third-costliest in U.S. history.

    Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida on September 28, 2022, in the Gulf of Mexico in this NOAA handout satellite image.
    Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida on September 28, 2022, in the Gulf of Mexico in this NOAA handout satellite image.

    NOAA via Getty Images


    Researchers said that the emergence of an El Niño this summer could potentially make for a weaker hurricane season. El Niño and La Niña are naturally occurring climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather forecasts globally. The emerging El Niño means that waters off the West Coast will be warmer and storm activity in the Pacific more active, while Atlantic hurricane activity may be weakened. However, water temperatures in the Atlantic are currently above average, which could counteract an El Niño.

    Officials touted upgrades to NOAA operations and forecasting that they hope will save lives this hurricane season. This year, NOAA will employ two new enhancements to better forecast the track and intensity of hurricanes and storm surge.

    The National Weather Service provides resources for hurricane preparation and real-time updates about active weather systems at www.hurricanes.gov.

    Cara Korte

    CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy.

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  • Hurricanes and climate change: What’s the connection?

    Hurricanes and climate change: What’s the connection?

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    Year to year, it’s hard to predict how bad a hurricane season will be. But scientists say climate change is making hurricanes worse, specifically when it comes to how destructive they are when hitting land. 

    Dr. Kristen Corbosiero is Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany. She studies the structure and intensity change of tropical cyclones. 

    “We can definitely see changes in hurricane impacts, and we think those will continue to get worse,” said Corbosiero.  

    When Corbosiero talks about Impacts, she means the path of destruction a hurricane leaves when it hits a community, like homes, businesses and people. Corbosiero said sea level rise is one of the clearest ways climate change is affecting the destruction hurricanes cause. 

    “When hurricanes come ashore, they bring water with them,” said Corbosiero. “Think about the flooding in Katrina, and that was, you know, over 15 years ago now.”  

    “More water is going to come ashore,” continued Corbosiero. “And we know that this kind of bringing water ashore is really the number one killer of people in hurricanes.”  

    It’s not just sea level rise she’s worried about. A recent study in the journal Science Advances, published in April, shows how climate change may push more hurricanes to make landfall in parts of the United States. 

    “I liked this study because they weren’t trying to say there would be more storms or they would be more intense, but the storms that do form have a greater likelihood to make landfall, which impacts people,” said Corbosiero.  

    The study specifically said landfalls could happen more in the Southeast U.S., especially Florida, and potentially fewer landfalls in the Northeast.  

    “And that was due to storms being moved in the atmosphere in different ways in a warming climate,” said Corbosiero. “That’s what this study projects, in 40-plus years from now, that our change of the climate will impact these storms and whether they hit the U.S. or not.”  

    Corbosiero said scientists are less certain about other connections between hurricanes and climate change, like if there will be more in the future.  

    “In terms of being able to attribute climate change and hurricane intensity or number increases, it’s difficult to really be able to attribute things to certain causes,” she said.  

    Corbosiero said one reason is that they base their predictions for the future by looking at patterns from the past, and they just don’t have enough historical data to do that yet. 

    “And I know that’s not a really satisfying answer,” she said. “It’s not a satisfying answer to me as a scientist, but I think we need to be honest about what we know and what we’re most certain about and then what we’re less certain about.”  

    There is a broader impact of hurricanes than just to those living along the coast. Hurricanes continue to cause the most destruction out of all recorded weather disasters in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  

    When it comes to the toll of U.S. hurricanes, government estimates say, in the last 40 years, they’ve caused more than $1.1 trillion in damage and are responsible for nearly 6,700 deaths. 

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