Climate Change is Worsening the Coastal Impacts of Hurricanes

We are now in the 2022 hurricane season which lasts through November. Extreme weather expert Kevin Reed, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, says that ongoing research shows climate change is worsening the coastal impacts of hurricanes --- which are becoming wetter and more intense causing negative environmental and economic effects for our coastal communities.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts an above normal Atlantic Hurricane Season this year. Professor Reed agrees. He can explain and expand on these points and climate change projections regarding hurricanes in 2022, which he says will come more into play as the most active part of the season picks up in August and September: 

• Recent active hurricane seasons in the North Atlantic are a reminder of the broad and significant impacts of hurricanes over many areas on the East Coast.
• Scientists do expect worsening impacts, with each season in the future getting wetter and wetter because both Earth and the North Atlantic continue to warm.
• Climate change will worsen some of these impacts through flooding and wind damage when storms make landfall, forcing us to examine climate change for many reasons, including the influences on extreme storms like hurricanes.
• As a society we need to better use climate information for resilience, adaptation and emergency plans.
• Local, state and national organizations need to prepare ahead of time to avert disasters like superstorm Sandy that caused billions in access damage and loss of life.

To see a few examples and details of Professor Reed's extreme weather research, click on these links:

• Study Shows Human Induced Climate Change is Affecting Hurricane Severity
• Improving the Global Response to Climate Change
• Study Confirms Climate Change Impacted Hurricane Florence's Precipitation and Size