Hurricane Gustav and Hanna hit the United States not long ago and Hurricane Ike is scheduled to hit soon. Hurricane Gustav with maximum sustained winds of 110 m.p.h caused an estimated $20 billion of damage. Although less that Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which caused $38 billion of damage, you also have to take in the fact that we were also ready for this hurricane. With so many storms in such a short period of time, there is one question. Could global warming be strengthening hurricanes? Researchers led by a meteorologist, James Elsner, have been studying data of tropical storms since 1981. These researchers have found that the maximum wind speeds of very strong storms have been dramatically increasing.
Global warming has risen ocean temperatures. What this means is that developing hurricanes can absorb more warm air. Hurricanes are powered by the transfer of energy from the ocean to the atmosphere (evaporation). As the water's ability to evaporate increases, so do the hurricane's power. As long as a hurricane is in waters of 79°F, they will continue to grow.
Scientists have not confirmed that global warming is actually increasing the power of hurricanes, but data will improve over time with more storms coming.
by Calvin
Is Global Warming Worsening Hurricanes?
By Bryan Walsh from Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1839281,00.html
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