Friday, September 16, 2005

Enviroman asks, "have the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes and typhoons increased due to global warming?"

Enviroman asks, "have the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes and typhoons increased due to global warming?"

It appear to be so. To spawn a hurricane, you only need an ocean temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit; a cool, wet atmosphere above and a warm, wet one near the surface; and a preexisting weather disturbance with a bit of spin to it far enough from the equator (at least 300 miles) so that the rotation of the Earth amplifies the rotation of the storm. The more intense the storm becomes, the more the temperature of its core climbs, accelerating the spin, exacerbating the storm, and leading to the meteorological violence we call a hurricane. And violent it can be: The heat released in an average hurricane can equal the electricity produced by the U.S. in a single year. Time


Now, scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, have analysed global tropical cyclone statistics since satellite records began. They found that there has been a sharp rise in the number of category 4 and 5 tropical cyclones - the most intense hurricanes that cause most of the damage on landfall - over this time period. (BBCNews.co.uk)

Between 1975 and 1989, there were 171 severe hurricanes but the number rose to 269 between 1990 and 2004. The author of the study, Dr Peter Webster, told the BBC News website: "What I think we can say is that the increase in intensity is probably accounted for by the increase in sea surface temperature and I think probably the sea surface temperature increase is a manifestation of global warming."

There were a lot of hurricanes last year. Japan had a record 10. We are getting hurrincane in the Atlantic where hurricane is not supposed to occur. From 1995 to 1999, a record 33 hurricanes struck the Atlantic basin, and that doesn’t include 1992’s horrific Hurricane Andrew, which clawed its way across south Florida in 1992, causing $27 billion dollars worth of damage. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that hurricane wind speeds have increased about 50% in the past 50 years. Hurricanes spawn tornadoes and there was an all-time record of 1,717 tornadoes in the United States last year.

Is Katrina due to global warming? Judge (or discern) for yourself. Read about what others have to say

Wait Till Next Time
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"Katrina's Real Name is Global Warming"
Katrina Kicks Up Storm of Global Warming Debate

Katrina: Global Warming, Homeland Security
Is Global Warming Causing More Devastating Hurricanes Worldwide?
Katrina Should be A Lesson To US on Global Warming
Prescott links global warming to Katrina
Katrina and Disgusting Exploitation
With every heat wave
Was Katrina’s Power a Product of Global Warming?
Bush, 'global warming' to blame for hurricane?
Not more storms, but deadlier
Hurricane Expert Sees Storms Increasing
Global Warming Said to Increase Hurricane Intensity
Hurricanes and Global Warming - Is There a Connection?
Why two monster storms in a month? Scientists have various theories, but the bottom line is no one knows
This is global warming, says environmental chief
Hurricanes made worse by overpopulation
No one can say if warming caused Katrina, Rita

10 comments:

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Anonymous said...

BEIJING (Reuters) - A typhoon roared across China's southern Hainan on Monday, the strongest storm to hit the tropical resort island in more than 30 years, and forced more than 170,000 people to flee their homes.

The Star

Enviroman said...

Vietnam is bracing itself for the onslaught of Typhoon Damrey, which has already wreaked havoc on China's island province of Hainan

BBC News

Truth Seeker said...

Actually, a little common sense and a little digging will reveal we are in
a natural cycle.

A quick list of Cat 5 Hurricanes:

Donna reached 160 mph on 9/4/1960
Ethel reached 160 mph on 9/15/1960
Carla reached 175 mph on 9/11/1961
Hattie reached 160 mph on 10/30/1961

And as for global warming...

The truth about global warming - it's the Sun that's to blame
By Michael Leidig and Roya Nikkhah
(Filed: 18/07/2004)

Global warming has finally been explained: the Earth is getting hotter because the Sun is burning more brightly than at any time during the past 1,000 years, according to new research.

Sources and links to that and more
for your reading enjoyment:
http://noncommon-sense.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...
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