An alarming new study obtained by the DailyMail.com outlines why deadly hurricanes in the US are set to become even stronger – with southern states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida most at risk.
Extreme weather conditions and stronger than usual storms have battered the South over the past six months, with Hurricanes Milton, Helene and Rafael causing devastating damage and leaving hundreds dead.
Now, a new study published by Princeton University’s Climate Central has revealed that ‘bath’-temperature water in the Atlantic and Gulf is to blame for the so-called super hurricanes.
Peter Girardi, Climate Central’s vice president of communications, told the DailyMail.com: ‘All hurricanes in 2024 were stronger than they would have been if climate change hadn’t heated up the ocean beneath them.
‘This study found that no hurricanes this year would have reached category five without the influence of global warming.’
Researchers tracked sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Atlantic during hurricanes at their highest speeds to determine this connection.
According to the study, ‘all SSTs have a clear upward trend’ along with global mean temperature (GMT).
This means that as sea temperatures rise, hurricanes can jump from one category of intensity to a higher one, causing further destruction.
Hurricane Helene destroyed homes in Horseshoe Beach, Florida. Research revealed that human-caused climate change has amplified hurricanes’ severity
Robert Haight, a Fort Meyers resident, sifted through the ruins of his home after a Hurricane Milton tornado tore it apart. Milton was made significantly stronger by warming waters
Five out of six – roughly 84 percent – of hurricanes between 2019 and 2023 were notably stronger and faster due to hotter sea temperatures, the study found.
On average, they had winds that were 18 mph faster than they would have been without climate change. In addition, each was roughly an entire category stronger.
Co-author of the study and researcher Daniel Michael Gilford told the DailyMail.com: ‘Every hurricane in 2024 was stronger than it would have been 100 years ago.
‘Through record-breaking ocean warming, human carbon pollution is worsening hurricane catastrophes in our communities.’
This was determined by analyzing ‘counterfactual scenarios’ – which involved looking at models of what hurricanes would look like in an environment untouched by humans.
Researchers compared real-life data from past and current storms to the model during this study.
In a briefing about the findings, Gilford revealed how hurricanes that hit the US this year were anywhere from nine to 28mph faster than if climate change was not a factor.
Hurricane Milton made landfall as a category 3 hurricane before reaching a category 5 (pictured). No category 5 storms would have been possible without climate change, the study revealed
Milton’s wind speeds picked up by 23mph over waters that were 100 times more likely to ramp up its velocity
There was a strong connection between SSTs and hurricane category
The hurricanes recorded this year were observed to pick-up strength over waters that were heated by about 2.5 degrees due to human environmental impact.
Summarizing the research, Gilford wrote: ‘Oceans made hotter by human-caused climate change are measurably fueling stronger hurricanes.
‘That means global warming is already increasing the risks and costs for millions living along coastlines around the world.’
During the briefing, Gilford said that global waters are 2 to 3 degrees hotter than they would be without global warming.
The Gulf of Mexico, meanwhile, is 4 degrees warmer.
This year’s most severe hurricanes, including Helene and Milton, were especially devastating to areas near the Gulf Coast.
This means that Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are most at risk from these super-heated hurricanes.
‘Hurricane Milton gathered strength over bathwater-warm water that was clearly influenced by climate change, allowing it to become the most intense hurricane of the season,’ Gilford elaborated.
Milton slammed Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in October, first making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. It soon reached a category 5 intensity.
Milton wrecked houses across Florida, including in Manasota Key. At least 24 people died
Helene caused devastation as far north as North Carolina. (Pictured: Bat Cave, North Carolina, on October 8)
According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, at least 24 Floridians died from the horrifying storm – which came just two weeks after Hurricane Helene.
Gilford said water temperatures intensified Milton’s wind speeds and made them about 23mph faster than if climate change was not a factor.
It ramped up over waters that made wind speed increased 100 times more likely, according to the research.
Helene battered communities mainly across Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. The tropical cyclone left at least 230 people dead across seven states.
More than half of these deaths were concentrated in North Carolina.
Hurricane Patty was another late-October storm that started brewing in the Caribbean. But the US was unscathed by this storm, as it targeted Central America.
Gilford went on to discuss Hurricane Rafael, stating that SSTs bumped up the late-season hurricane’s intensity by two categories.
He described the storm: ‘That’s one of the largest changes in our entire data set and the largest tied for the largest in 2024.’
Rafael made landfall about two weeks ago, primarily hitting the Cayman Islands and Cuba while also causing life-threatening tidal waves on south Florida shores.
The storm was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane as it reached the Caribbean but was downgraded to a tropical storm as it slowed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Helene, which killed over 230 people across seven states, hit North Carolina especially hard. Lake Lure was covered with debris (pictured)
‘Don’t let your guard down just because the calendar says we’re heading into mid-November,’ AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva warned.
‘Conditions and water temperatures in the tropics are still primed for tropical storms to form in the final weeks of hurricane season,’ he continued.
Meteorologist John Morales also spoke during the study’s virtual briefing, bringing up other factors beyond sea temperatures that have an apparent influence on hurricanes.
He brought up wind shear – which means changes in wind direction and speed – as an element that should not be ignored.
‘You saw how quickly [hurricane] Sara left the Mexican coast basically torn apart,’ he said. ‘[The storm] was already weak because it was over land, but wind shear plays a big role.’
Crunching numbers across decades, researchers were even able to evaluate even the most recent 2024 storms that devastated southern East Coast states – including Tropical Storm Sara.
Although it was never technically a hurricane, Tropical Storm Sara made landfall on November 17 and hit states bordering the Gulf of Mexico with extreme flooding.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Sara officially dissipated at 3am on Monday, saying it was no longer a threat as it moved into the Gulf.
However, AccuWeather explained that there was still the possibility of isolated tornadoes and that a coastal flood advisory is in effect in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa coastal counties until 6am Tuesday.
Pictured: Fort Myers, Florida, after Hurricane Milton’s devastation
Pictured: Siesta Key, Florida, which was considered by locals to be Hurricane Milton’s ‘ground zero’
Sara was upgraded to a tropical storm last week when it brought life-threatening flooding and mudslides to parts of Honduras, which saw up to 40 inches of rain in some areas.
Sara was the 18th named storm of the 2024 hurricane season and is the third named this month due to record-breaking warm waters in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.