Reevaluating Storm Impacts: Beyond Wind Speed

Hurricanes Beryl, Francine and Helene have battered the Gulf Coast this year. Hurricane Milton is expected to add to the destruction, particularly in parts of the west coast of central Florida that are already reeling from Hurricane Helene. Scientific American’s associate editor of sustainability Andrea Thompson joins Science Quickly to help us understand how we measure hurricanes and how climate change is magnifying the damage done by these massive storms. Plus, we discuss how the catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina dispels the myth that anywhere can be a true “climate haven.”

Recommended reading:

New Hurricane Forecasts Could Predict Terrifying Explosive Intensification https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-hurricane-forecasts-could-predict-terrifying-explosive-intensification/ 

Hurricanes Kill People for Years after the Initial Disaster  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hurricanes-kill-people-for-years-after-the-initial-disaster/ 

Hurricane Helene Signals the End of the ‘Climate Haven’ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hurricane-helene-signals-the-end-of-the-climate-haven/ 

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Andrea Thompson, Scientific American’s associate editor of sustainability. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. 

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