Jim Kossin, a NOAA National Climatic Data Center scientist assigned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, and his colleagues discovered a poleward migration of storm intensity in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres after a thorough examination of three-decades worth of global historical tropical cyclone data.
May 14, 2014
Contact: Jim Kossin james.kossin@noaa.gov
608-265-5356 University of Wisconsin-Madison
MADISON, Wis. — The latitude at which tropical cyclones reach their greatest intensity is gradually shifting from the tropics toward the poles at rates of about 33 to 39 miles per decade, according to a study published today (May 14, 2014) in the journal Nature.
The new study was led by Jim Kossin, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center scientist stationed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. The research documents a poleward migration of storm intensity in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres through an analysis of 30 years of global historical tropical cyclone data. The term "tropical cyclone" describes a broad category of storms that includes hurricanes and typhoons, large and damaging storms that draw their energy from warm ocean waters.
The findings are important, says Kossin, because they suggest that
some areas, including densely populated coastal cities, could experience
changes in risk due to large storms and associated floods and storm
surges. Regions closer to the equator, he notes, could experience a
reduced risk, and places more distant from the equator could experience
an increased risk. The trend observed by Kossin and his colleagues is
particularly important given the devastating loss of life and property
that can follow in the wake of a tropical cyclone....How is the northeast USA doing? A little soggy?
Why would storms being migrating northward? It is an interesting study which records the data, but, why would storms be migrating northward?
Melting ice caps provide water vapor to fuel storms.
