Atlantic Coast hurricanes intensifying faster than 40 years ago

These maps show observed changes in the nearshore hurricane environment, 1979–2018. Credit: doi:10.1029/2022GL099793

New NOAA research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that hurricane intensification rates near the U.S. Atlantic coast have increased significantly over the last 40 years and will likely continue to increase in the future.  
Landfalling hurricanes can cause loss of life and severe damage, and when these storms intensify near the coast causing winds to increase, they can pose a more serious threat and represent a bigger challenge for damage mitigation.

Using observations and climate model simulations, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) analyzed hurricane intensification patterns in the 230 mile area of the shoreline using storm track data for a 40-year period from 1979–2018. The study found the average intensification rate increased by about 1.3 miles per hour near the U.S. Atlantic coast. Researchers did not find a significant increase in hurricane intensity near the Gulf of Mexico coast over the same period.

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