Hurricane Florence’s Unusual Extremes Worsened By Climate Change, Scientists Say
Hurricane Florence lumbered toward the Carolinas on Thursday as a slow-moving giant, churning up a powerful storm surge that could reach 13 feet at high tide and devastate hundreds of miles of shoreline. Adding to forecasters' fears was the storm's potential to bring days of torrential rain to the already saturated region. The hurricane was unusual for a variety of reasons—and it was being made worse by climate change, a team of scientists said Wednesday. The scientists—from Stony Brook University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research—compared the storm's real-time forecasts to what would be expected if the ocean temperature wasn't so warm and the atmosphere lacked today's additional heat and moisture fueled by climate change.