Study Attributes Stronger Storms to Warmer Seas - New York Times

"Storms with the power of Hurricane Katrina are becoming more common, in part because of global warming, according to a report from a team of researchers that will be published Friday.

The number of storms in the two most powerful categories, 4 and 5, rose to an average of 18 a year worldwide since 1990, up from 11 in the 1970's, according to the report, which will be published in the journal Science.

The researchers were led by Peter J. Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

There was no increase in storms over all, the researchers said, just in their intensity. But the rise in intensity, they said, coincided with an increase of nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit in the surfaces of tropical seas around the world.

The researchers said they could not attribute any particular storm, like Hurricane Katrina, to the rising surface temperatures. Not all scientists were convinced by the findings. Some said the changes in storms are part of natural variability."

It is interesting how little we really know about our own world. Plus figure in the overall majority of people really don't care. Where does that leave us? Vastly uniformed, and with no real drive to improve the situation. A few people do their best to help us understand the world/universe, but without the support of the public. Again, where does that leave us?

Science