What if Rita and Katrina-type storms become the norm

[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]

I always laugh at the fools who claim there is global warming. Not because I don't believe in it, but if they're right then storms like Rita and Katrina would become the norm every hurricane season. In would be in the best interest of all mankind if this was just a normal cycle rather then events caused by humans.

Anyway I'm still not sure which one it is: I know nothing about weather. But I do know statistics, and the chances that the 4th and 5th most intense hurricanes since record keeping began to appear within a month of each other is far too rare. Either something has changed and Rita and Katrina-type storms become the norm or this is indeed a once in a lifetime event.

[gilbert88]

Well... I'm no meteorologist, but I think this is the beginning of a very favorable period for cyclone formation and intensification. I'm not saying every year will have a sub-905mb monster (or two, like this year), but Cat-5's are starting to become sort of common, which is kind of creepy.

I remember Mitch in 1998, and thought I wouldn't see anything like that in a looong, long time.

[Florida_TSR]

Interesting points. If you look back at Katrina the odds of the storm forming were low - then for it to take that SW track over Florida giving it the best chance to gain CAT 5 strength just mind blowing low - the NHC gave the odds and they were very low. Now there is that huge high pressure system over Texas. This high is allowing Rita to explode. All rare events. Probably not global warming or the norm.

[arcticfire]

Actually storms like Rita and Katrina being the norm would not nessisarly be caused by global warming. Global warming as it will be experinced over the next century by all accounts is going to cause climate change , which does not nessisarly meant 900mb storms every other week. It just means weather patterns are likly to shift and change. That could be manifested in larger more powerfull hurricains far more commonly , or it could just cause so much dry air in the atlantic we stop getting them all together. Or anything in between.

I suspect you'll see hurricains going places they didn't go before , long before you would see Kat/Rita become the common stregth atlantic basin cains. When they start barreling into Los Angles and San Fran , thats when we can all start to really panic about hurricains.

In short , I doubt they will get so common as to have this or worse for years to come. I would be highly amused if it did happen that suddenly and undeniably , and I imagine we'd see a lot more sea walls being build that are 30ft high.

[milankovitch]

Look at the NHC SST anom chart. Anom's are less than 1C above normal.

[cjrciadt]

If the trend of season getting worser each year. (03-05) I will have to move here: http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USAK0025?from=search_city

[MiamiensisWx]

If the trend of season getting worser each year. (03-05) I will have to move here: http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USAK0025?from=search_city

Have you ever read "The Call of The Wild"? All regions of the world have a price.

P.S.: I know the book may be overboard, but you know what I mean; there will always be problems no matter where you are. In Alaska, coastal areas may occasionally get tsunamis while those and other areas suffer from related earthquakes.

[chrisnnavarre]

If they are the norm then everyone will be forced to migrate from the coastal regions. Insurance may dictate that anyway. Maybe I should start building Coastal Modernized Bunker Homes...(Steel and Concrete) complete with self-contained power generator systems. Would be nice if there was maybe a hydrogen generator system because fuel oil will become a luxury for only the wealthy.