Report – Stronger Hurricanes Hitting U.S. More Often

A Danish research team has authored a report with some troubling statistics and an ominous prognostication for those of us who live close to the coast. That report appears to indicated that stronger hurricanes are affecting the coastal communities of the United States more often than they did a century ago.

The Danish study looked at how big and strong the storms were and did not focus on monetary losses associated with the storms. The study's data revealed that the top 10% of storms, as measured by strength and square miles, were occurring on average 3.3 times more frequently than they were at the turn of the century in 1900.

The study showed that eight of the top ten most powerful and largest storms to affect the coast occurred within the last 16 years. The two storms that stood out the most were Hurricane Harvey from 2017 and Hurricane Katrina from 2005.

Harvey's destruction covered an area of 4,570 square miles. Katrina's destruction covered an area of 2,942 square miles. Those numbers really show the devastation caused by these large storms when you consider the average area of destruction for storms measured over the same time frame was only 150 square miles.

The Danish researchers seem to suggest that the more frequent powerful storms were the result of climate change. However, not all tropical scientists agreed with that summation of the findings.

By the way, if you're looking for a little good news regarding hurricanes. The 2019 Hurricane Season is set to end in a little over two weeks on November 30th.