Here We Go: Huffington Post Links Hurricane Joaquin With ‘Climate Change’

Most news outlets have wisely stayed away from this proposition, something that is not based on science. Not Huffington Post’s Lydia O’Conner

How Climate Change Is Intensifying Hurricane Joaquin
Warmer oceans are making everything worse.

As the East Coast prepares for a possible Hurricane Joaquin landfall, experts warn that its intensity and potential for destruction are exacerbated by climate change.

Joaquin, which strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane on Thursday and battered sparsely populated Bahamian islands, will strengthen in the next 12 to 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center reported. Its current path has it nearing North Carolina and Virginia on Sunday or Monday, but mid-Atlantic and Northeast states will experience minor to moderate flooding over the weekend regardless of whether the hurricane makes landfall.

Joaquin’s quickly progressing strength can be tied to unprecedented sea surface temperatures in the hurricane’s vicinity, Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, told The Huffington Post.

“Joaquin has been traveling over a record-warm ocean surface and undoubtedly that has contributed to its rapid intensification,” he said. “In a very basic sense, warmer ocean surface temperatures mean there is more energy available to strengthen these storms. So we expect more intense hurricanes in general in a warmer world.”

More