Study shows hurricane impact of warmer Atlantic - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Study shows hurricane impact of warmer Atlantic
Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:36pm EST

By Michael Kahn

LONDON (Reuters) - British researchers say they have
shown that a half-degree Celsius temperature rise in
the Atlantic ocean can fuel a 40 percent increase in
hurricanes.

The finding by the team from University College London
is a contentious one in the debate over how climate
change affects weather and, especially, storms.

"A 0.5 degree C increase in sea surface temperature
is associated with a 40 percent increase in hurricane
frequency and activity," the British researchers
wrote in their report, published in the journal Nature
on Wednesday.

The team showed ocean warming is directly linked to
the frequency, strength and duration of hurricanes,
said Adam Lea, the research scientist who co-led
the study.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL3016252120080130

[kestrel91316]

1. I thought God himself (Bill Gray) said definitively that global warming

had nothing whatsoever to do with the strength or frequency of hurricanes........

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Well, a hurricane is just a big heat engine, so ...

of course not. :evilgrin:

[Nihil]

3. If only a hurricane would trash Washington DC ...

... then an awful lot of people would "magically" become aware of
the climate problems and a large amount of money & effort would be
spent in addressing them.

Until that point however ... "What's on the other channel?" :shrug:

[trof]

4. I read just the opposite.

Some meteorologists say that warming Atlantic will create more wind shear.

How winds can rip apart a hurricane

Wind right above the ocean blowing in a different direction from strong winds thousands of feet above can rip apart even the strongest hurricane as they push the storm's bottom and top in different directions.

Winds blowing in different directions, or at different speeds create what meteorologists call wind shear.

As hurricane forecasters try to figure out whether a tropical storm or hurricane will weaken or grow stronger, they look at projections of winds at all altitudes around the storm to see whether wind shear is likely.

Normally during hurricane season, winds at all altitudes in the tropics blow generally from east to west. Changes in weather patterns can create high-level winds blowing opposite to those near the ocean. For instance, a trough can dip down into the tropics to bring high-altitude winds blowing from the West. Also, the global weather pattern known as El Niño tends to create west-to-east high-level winds over the tropics of the Atlantic and Caribbean. This is why fewer hurricanes, especially strong hurricanes occur during El Niño years.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/whshear/whshear.htm