Hurricane Florence and Climate Change

One of the important effects of climate change is what is happening to the jet stream.  The warming Arctic Sea has dramatically affected the jet stream.  It has been twisting its way south, and one of the results is cold winters and the American Northeast.  Another impact is on hurricanes.



The dip in the jet stream is bringing cold air to the Northeast, but it also is creating an issue for hurricanes.  More hurricanes are being sent into the East Coast that would ordinarily swing up into the North Atlantic. 

33 named storms (since 1851) have been within 100 miles of 's current position. None of these storms made US landfall. The closest approach was George (1950) - the highlighted track. However, Florence does not appear to be taking a climatological track.
The problem is a blocking high forcing the hurricanes into the East Coast.



Back in 2016 Francis published a study on the link between blocking highs and global warming. At the time, she told ThinkProgress: “Our new study does indeed add to the growing pile of evidence that amplified Arctic warming and sea-ice loss favor the formation of blocking high pressure features in the North Atlantic. These blocks can cause all sorts of trouble…”
Figuring out all of the causes is tricky, Francis told ThinkProgress Tuesday, but “certainly the uptick [in blocking highs] is consistent with expectations in a world with rapid Arctic warming, which tends to weaken jet-stream winds and favor a more meandering path. Large northward swings can break off in an eddy, forming a blocking high.”

Along with sea level rise, the changes in the jet stream causing harsh winters in the Northeast as well as more hurricanes hitting the East Coast are just some of the effects of global warming that we are will be forced to get used to.

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