Climate change likely helped fuel Harvey's strength

[Tennis]

Since smashing into the coast of Texas on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane, tropical cyclone Harvey has submerged streets, homes and vehicles by dumping up to a metre or more of rain on some parts of the state. At least eight people have died, according to some media reports, and nearly seven million people have been affected by Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years.

It's extreme and unusual, and yet it comes just a few years after Sandy slammed the U.S. east coast in 2012, causing $75 billion US in damage, and little more than a decade after Katrina devastated Louisiana and nearby states, along with Cuba and the Bahamas, becoming the costliest storm in U.S. history at $108 billion.

You may wonder: is climate change to blame for these extreme storms, making them bigger, stronger and more frequent than before? Could nature have brewed up such powerful disasters without global warming?


Studies have already shown that we should expect stronger hurricanes and other tropical cyclones in the future — although perhaps fewer of them. Climate change has also been found to have played a role in some cyclones in the Pacific.

"The reason hurricanes form to begin with is there's a tremendous amount of energy stored in the ocean in the form of heat," says Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S. "Nature doesn't like these imbalances, so what it tries to do is dissipate or re-balance some of that heat. That creates the environment for hurricanes."

A warmer climate, with warmer oceans, could provide an energy boost that creates the right conditions for big hurricanes.

Expect more extreme rainfall events, says hurricane centre meteorologist

Because of that, says James Elsner, a scientist who studies the relationship of hurricanes to climate factors at Florida State University, "Under global warming, we should see stronger storms, especially the strongest ones" — though perhaps not as many storms overall.

Elsner says another way that climate change may be having an effect is by raising sea levels, leaving less room for any extra water that might be poured on top by a big storm.
Spongier sky

A warmer atmosphere can also hold more water, roughly six to seven per cent more for each degree Celsius increase in temperature.

Robichaud says that means "when we get a hurricane squeezing all the moisture out of the air, it's going to result in more rainfall."

Kevin Trenberth, a scientist in climate and global dynamics at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, says an increase in temperature boosts the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere, which in turn boosts the intensity of the storm. That can lead to other effects that further increase the strength of the storm in some computer modelling experiments.

"Some of the experiments that have been done suggest that the climate change effect total can be easily be up to about 30 per cent or something like that," Trenbeth tells CBC News.

But Chris Landsea, a researcher at the U.S. National Hurricane Center, says the intensity and rainfall effects are minimal compared to other factors.

He says climate models show big storms could get two to five per cent stronger and produce 10 per cent more intense rainfall by the end of the century if humans continue emitting large quantities of the greenhouse gases that drive the increase in global temperatures. He was a co-author of a 2010 report predicting that climate change will lead to fewer but stronger tropical storms.

He notes that a bigger factor in massive destruction from tropical storms in the past 15 years is the fact that the population living in coastal areas is doubling in the United States every 20 to 40 years — laying out more coastal property and infrastructure that the storms can ravage.

"Even a 10-per-cent increase in rainfall is very small in comparison."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/hu...ange-1.4265636

With warmer oceans, these hurricanes are going to become even more vicious. Our only choice is to take serious action on climate change instead of only focusing on the now.

[Venant]

With warmer oceans, these hurricanes are going to become even more vicious. Our only choice is to take serious action on climate change instead of only focusing on the now.

I don't know, the weather was unseasonably cold today where I am, so I think that totally balances out your observations about a single weather event. I think from the weather outside today, we need to worry about preventing an ice age.

[Freighter]

I don't know, the weather was unseasonably cold today where I am, so I think that totally balances out your observations about a single weather event. I think from the weather outside today, we need to worry about preventing an ice age.

[Tennis]

That does not make any sense. We've had much stronger Hurricanes in the past even before the C02 levels got to where they are now. We've had years where we had 3 cat 5 hurricanes and 1 of them regenerated to a cat 3.

If you pursue this route people skeptical of climate change will be able to rip it to shreds.

How many times have we had a hurricane which has dropped this much rain on a region?

[PC2]

With warmer oceans, these hurricanes are going to become even more vicious. Our only choice is to take serious action on climate change instead of only focusing on the now.

You can take serious action now, by banning fossil fuel and meat in Canada.

[igualitarist]

Before commenting on this thread, everyone should take a look at this chart:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdec.shtml

It pretty much shows this article is nothing but a piece of propaganda.

[Molis]

No.

I cant even

Just no

You act like cave men never had a hurricane.

[Doctor Amadeus]

No because people already fucking know climate change is real, at least those who make up the strongest leadership against this, the problem is they are too fucking stupid and don't care, so NO none of this will make even a small bit of difference because in the end it won't be those leading this stupid shit that have to pay for it.

And the others either lack the intelligence for it to matter or are too stupid to accept it.


Also of Note:

This wont end racism
This doesn't define racism as ending
People are still going to find ways to profit from this
More than likely this will be used as way of further dividing people.
Some will use this a religious event that contradicts their own faiths in order to feel better.

[Tennis]

Before commenting on this thread, everyone should take a look at this chart:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdec.shtml

It pretty much shows this article is nothing but a piece of propaganda.

Nice try dude.

Look at how much damage Katrina, Sandy and Harvey have done and compare it to those on your chart.

[Doctor Amadeus]

That does not make any sense. We've had much stronger Hurricanes in the past even before the C02 levels got to where they are now. We've had years where we had 3 cat 5 hurricanes and 1 of them regenerated to a cat 3.

If you pursue this route people skeptical of climate change will be able to rip it to shreds.

No, because just as you demonstrated it will sound like they don't know what the fuck they are talking about. Again it's 85 Degrees outside, but how come its 65 Inside with the AC on.

This is the equivalent to what you just said.

[igualitarist]

Nice try dude.

Look at how much damage Katrina, Sandy and Harvey have done and compare it to those on your chart.

The damage does not indicate increase on frequency or intensity.

You can have a category 5 hurricane in the middle of the nothing, every year, for 12165165165 years, and the damage caused will be lower than the damage caused by a single categoty 3 hurricane in a densely inhabited area.

[Allybeboba]

Coastal El Niño and a weakened La Niña contributed.

The Galveston 1900 hurricane was a cat 4. It all but wiped out Galveston. Was this due to climate change too?

[McFuu]

Nice try dude.

Look at how much damage Katrina, Sandy and Harvey have done and compare it to those on your chart.

They did a lot of damage because they hit major cities, or in Sandy's example, where all the wealthy people that live around NYC.

It says it right in your article, we continue to settle near the coast line, so any time a storm comes along there are double or triple the amount of people that live their before. Look what happens when major storms hit NC or Florida, no one really lives where they make landfall, no one cares.

[the game]

Sounds like a good reason not to live in coastal cities.

[Tennis]

I don't know, the weather was unseasonably cold today where I am, so I think that totally balances out your observations about a single weather event. I think from the weather outside today, we need to worry about preventing an ice age.

Weather is not climate.

[Zomis]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/hu...ange-1.4265636

With warmer oceans, these hurricanes are going to become even more vicious. Our only choice is to take serious action on climate change instead of only focusing on the now.

News Flash Climate change happens with or without humans interactions. Do you think we had the iceage because cave men had campfires?

[Tennis]

You can take serious action now, by banning fossil fuel and meat in Canada.

It didn't hit Canada and we didn't pull out of the Paris accord. 0/2.

[Deleted]

I think it's weird to discuss the extent of the effects of a trend on a singular event.

[Garnier Fructis]

News Flash Climate change happens with or without humans interactions. Do you think we had the iceage because cave men had campfires?

Translation: 'News flash, here's something that doesn't actually contradict climate theory but I think it does, so I'm going to act like a smug idiot.'

[Tierbook]

Considering that this Hurricane ended a pretty long period of no Cat 3+ Hurricanes hitting the US I'd say it's less due to Climate Change and more due to statistics...... as far as rainfall goes this storm basically sat in place for like 3 days so it's not much of a surprise that it rained a lot.