Flooding, Blackouts in the Wake of Laura
According to hurricane historian Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University, Laura tied for the fifth strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the continental United States. (NASA)
According to hurricane historian Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University, Laura tied for the fifth strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the continental United States. (NASA)
“Generally speaking,” Zimmerle, “something like half or more of the emissions come from a small percentage of the emitters.” (Houston Chronicle)
It’s useful to consider a few things: the history of U.S. hurricanes, why the Atlantic is currently so active, and the ingredients that allow storms to strengthen so quickly.
“When you have warmer temperatures and you’re lengthening the warm season, you’re also lengthening the time when wildfires have a chance to start and grow,” says Becky Bolinger, Colorado’s assistant state climatologist (NPR).
States bordering the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico face a greater risk this year of a hurricane strike, according to the forecast from CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science (USA Today).
Hurricane Laura’s landfall came after officials in both states issued the gravest of warnings about the storm, which is among the strongest ever to hit the United States (New York Times).
Rapid intensification has taken Hurricane Laura from a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph early Tuesday to a Category 3 with 115-mph winds on Wednesday morning (CNN).
“We’re seeing not only just warmer sea surface temperatures, we’re also seeing lower sea level pressures,” said Jhordanne Jones, a graduate research assistant with CSU’s Tropical Weather and Climate Research Group (Scientific American).
CSU hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach said there have been only two occasions in the last 150 years when there have been two systems in the Gulf of Mexico where both were at least of tropical storm strength (Ars Technica).
So far, 2020 is Colorado’s third driest year on record and the 12th warmest, according to state climatologist Russ Schumacher (Colorado Public Radio).