Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 130 people across six states and flooded homes in the Tampa Bay area that had never flooded before, is an example of the kinds of monster storms the United States should expect in the coming decades because of climate change, WLFA-TV Ch. 8 Chief Meterologist Jeff Beradelli says.
Beradelli, who earned a master’s degree in climate change from Columbia University, discussed the long-term impact of climate change in the wake of Hurricane Helene Tuesday (Oct. 1) during an interview on WMNF WaveMakers with Janet & Tom.
Helene created the highest storm surge to hit Tampa Bay in more than 100 years, the third-highest in its history, after hurricanes in 1848 and 1921. And while forecasters accurately predicted the storm surge, it was still a shock to see it, Beradelli said.
“You just don’t know until you see it with your own eyes,” Berardelli said.
Beradelli said he recently completed a study with the U.S. Department of Energy about the impact of climate change on storms over the next few decades. “It was pretty astonishing actually,” Berardelli said. He found there could be a 215 percent increase in the number of major hurricanes targeting the United States by 2060. Instead of 100-uear events we will see 30-year events, he said. “The warmer water is sending more storms toward the U.S.,” he said
Hurricane Helene was so deadly because it was so large, he said. Other storms, like Michael, were more intense but not as big. And it was moving fast, so it didn’t dissipate once hitting land. Instead, it slammed into the mountains of North Carolina, unleashing 20 inches of rain on an area that already had received a foot of rain, he said.
But climate change is putting more moisture in the atmosphere, so even summer storms are dumping more water on Florida. This summer, the record for rain in a 24 hours was broken in Tampa.
In general, the earth has 10 percent more water vapor in the atmosphere than 30 years ago. That not only produces more rain; it means this summer was the most humid on record, beating the record set just last year.
What’s unclear, Beradelli said, is how this will affect the insurance market in Florida going forward. “We’re going to see profound effects of hurricanes in Florida,” he said.
But it’s not just Florida, he said. Floods not normally seen are “happening everywhere and all the time” around the world, he said. “If people understood that, they’d understand the challenge we’re facing with climate change,” he said.
Hear the entire conversation by clicking the link below, going to the WaveMakers archives or by searching for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you listen to podcasts.
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