The unprecedented increase raises concerns about the future impact of increasingly powerful storms on vulnerable areas.
Hurricane Lee, which became a monster Category 5 before weakening over the weekend and which may or may not ever make landfall, is being treated as a warning by meteorologists and climate experts, who say recent days The storm’s behavior in the U.S. could have serious implications in the future.
The National Hurricane Center said Saturday that Lee would move well north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands but that the Atlantic coast of the United States could see dangerous beach conditions. On Thursday, the storm went from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours, known as “rapid intensification” — when sustained winds reach 35 mph over the course of a day.
Marshall Shepherd, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia and former president of the American Meteorological Society, explained associated Press How Hurricane Lee intensified at more than twice that rate moved it into a category they called hyperintensification.
“It went up to 80 mph (129 kph),” Shepherd said. “I can’t emphasize this enough. We used to have this metric of 35 mph, and here’s a storm that’s double that amount, and we’re seeing that happen more frequently. If future hurricanes caused by rising ocean temperatures continue this trend, it will have devastating consequences for regions that rarely, if ever, experience such powerful storms.
As Lee reached Category 5 status on Thursday, meteorologist Jeff Berardelli pointed to the increasing frequency of storms reaching that threshold:
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Nearly 7 in 10 Americans believe extreme weather events will become more common in the near future.
Breaking: #stormtube It is now a Cat 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph. In 30 hours it intensified to 90 mph, 2–3 times the rapid intensity criteria. In the last 8 years, there have been 8 CAT 5s in ATL. Comparing 1970-2000 to 2001-2022, the frequency of Cat 5 has tripled! 1/ pic.twitter.com/6ajDURbJ3G
– Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) 8 September 2023
Responding to this same trend and data, climate movement organizer Jamie Hein Said: “This is your storm on fossil-fueled climate change.”
And this is a global phenomenon, not just for storms that form in the Atlantic. For the first time since records began, Category 5 hurricanes (or equivalent) have been recorded in every named cyclone basin in the world.
For the first time in recorded history, all seven official tropical cyclone basins have produced a Category 5 hurricane in the same year. *2023*
What a crazy year it’s been so far… pic.twitter.com/ltb9Avjg0W
– Nahel Belgherz (@WxNB_) 8 September 2023
“The storms are strengthening at higher latitudes,” Shepherd warned in his assessment. “If this trend continues, it will bring places like Washington, D.C., New York and Boston into play.”
As science and environment journalist Matt Simon writes wired on Saturday:
The rapid intensification makes storms extra dangerous because as they approach the coastline, they change very rapidly and dramatically. It’s a bit like watching a driver who is going 25 mph and then firing a gun at him just before he hits an obstacle. Residents may have been hoping for a storm they could escape from, but instead they are faced with a full-scale storm that quickly turns into a hurricane.
Exploring the science and speaking with experts on rapid intensification, Simon explained why Lee is being treated as a “warning” and that people and communities should “be prepared for this event as the planet warms.” Must be prepared.”
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