Hurricane Ian first made landfall in western Cuba as a category 3 storm, wiping out power for 11 million people. It continued northwards over the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened over exceptionally warm ocean water (which meteorologists describe as «rocket fuel» for hurricanes).
October 4, 2022
Hurricane Ian first made landfall in western Cuba as a category 3 storm, wiping out power for 11 million people. It continued northwards over the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened over exceptionally warm ocean water (which meteorologists describe as «rocket fuel» for hurricanes).
On reaching the coast of Florida, Ian made landfall as a category 4 storm with winds of up to 249km/h (155mph) as well as storm surges and torrential rain.
But Ian wasn’t finished there. The hurricane carved a path of destruction across the state before sweeping back out to sea, where it refueled and turned northwards, striking South Carolina and driving deeper into the U.S.
Ian cut power to 2.7 million homes in Florida alone. Millions of people were evacuated ahead of time, but many stayed and the death toll is thought to be high. Though the extent of damage is not yet known, it is probably in the tens of billions of dollars and may exceed a hundred billion dollars, as only a few storms have before.
Devastating hurricanes are often seen as an indication that global warming is intensifying. While this makes a compelling headline, exactly how, where and when climate change affects extreme weather is more complex. Understanding these complexities can help countries and communities decide how to adapt to mounting storms—and when it’s better to make the difficult choice to relocate.
How do hurricanes form?
Most hurricanes in the North Atlantic begin as low-pressure weather systems moving off the west coast of Africa towards the Caribbean.
A specific set of conditions is necessary for these seeds to evolve into hurricanes: warm, moist air, winds that are fairly consistent in the upper and lower atmosphere, and, most importantly, a seawater temperature above 27°C. This is the lifeblood of a hurricane and provides all of its energy.
Warm, moist air and high ocean temperatures are in ample supply in a rapidly warming world. Yet there is no evidence that hurricanes are happening more often, nor do scientists expect this to change with further climate change.
Instead, those that do occur are more likely to be major hurricanes (categories 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale).
