Climate science at a glance
- Climate change is making storms wetter.[1]
- Climate change attribution science has shown that climate change contributed to the sheer volume of moisture in the atmosphere for several storms including Hurricane Sandy, Snowmaggedon, and the Boulder floods.[2]
Background information
What are storms?
At the most basic level, a storm is any interruption of the prevailing atmospheric pressure and wind fields that causes high winds and precipitation. There are many types of storms including rainstorms, thunderstorms, snowstorms, and tropical storms. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classifies a storm as “severe” when it produces at least one of the following: wind gusts of 58 mph or faster, hail one inch in diameter or larger, or a tornado. Storms that form in the tropics are called tropical cyclones. When a tropical storm’s maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. Hurricane intensity is usually measured by a storm’s wind speed. Category 5 hurricanes are the most intense and have wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or higher. Surface pressure is another indicator of hurricane intensity, and some say is a better benchmark for hurricane damage potential.[3]
