With Hurricane Milton recently tearing across the Floridian peninsula, people are now starting to wonder how this hurricane got so powerful in such a short time span over the Gulf of Mexico. Many have increasing concerns that climate change has been gradually making hurricanes stronger over time, an effect just seen with Milton. Taking a closer look is essential in proving if hurricanes really do increase in intensity due to climate change.

When examining the correlation between hurricanes and climate change, people must first understand what makes this powerful storm. There could be many causes for this, but there is a certain factor that draws it in and makes it a hurricane. This factor can make any category of hurricane, from category one to category five. The one that seems to make them most powerful is the ocean’s temperature. 

Chris Michaels is a meteorologist and weather content producer at WRAL. He describes the type of ocean temperatures, one of the key conditions needed in the ocean to form these powerful storms.  

“Hurricanes need the water to be 80 degrees Fahrenheit,” Michaels said. “Anything warmer than that is extra fuel, especially if that warmth extends deep down into the ocean.”

With this extra fuel, stronger hurricanes are formed. Since climate change has made the water hotter thanks to rising temperatures on Earth, this gives reason to why they have been growing in intensity over the last few years. Unfortunately, hurricanes are only projected to get stronger as time goes on and climate change worsens.

Kat Campbell is another meteorologist at WRAL. She has covered all types of storms for different platforms before coming to WRAL. Campbell expresses her thoughts over how the intensity is projected to increase. 

“Hurricanes are becoming stronger at a faster pace,” Campbell said. “Rapid intensification is more common, which means that hurricanes are going from category one to category three, four and five at a much faster rate, [which is] often within 24 hours.”

It also becomes very clear that hurricanes are still getting stronger when compared to hurricanes in the past. This phenomenon is ultimately believed to be caused by climate change, as evidenced by the warmer ocean waters. Alberto Hernandez-Galguera, a senior at Wakefield High School, gives his input to how hurricanes are growing stronger and more powerful based on his own observations. 

“Looking back to previous natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Milton had similar effects and therefore, can be used as an example of hurricanes getting stronger,” Hernandez-Galguera said. 

Just because the waters are getting warmer doesn’t always mean that they point our strong storms to climate change. Weather changes so dramatically over and over again,  so it isn’t always easy to track a pattern.  Brian Shrader, another meteorologist at WRAL, expresses the issue he has found in this by researching climate change and their effects. 

“It has been much easier to find connections between human activity and increasing global temperature than it has been to find connections between human activity and hurricane activity,” Shrader said.

Even so, people should still be aware and concerned about climate change. Just because there isn’t a lot of evidence connecting the two yet  doesn’t mean it isn’t still a big issue around the world. If temperatures keep rising, then our waters are only going to get hotter, creating more fuel for future hurricanes. 

“The global average temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, and it appears human activity has been the main cause,” Shrader said.