Hurricanes Are Moving Slower—And That's a Huge Problem
When tropical cyclones slow, they drop far more rain, sparking even more devastating floods. Future climate change is expected to slow them still more.
Tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, are now crawling across the planet at a slower pace than they did decades ago, dragging out and amplifying their devastation, new research published Wednesday shows.
At the same time, related research published just last month suggests that warming temperatures from climate change will slow storms more in the future.
While having a cyclone travel with less speed may seem like a good thing, it's actually just the opposite. Wind speeds within the storm remain high, but the whole system itself moves slower across the landscape, allowing punishing rains to linger longer over communities.
Taken together, these two studies suggest that climate change is already increasing the dangers posed by hurricanes and typhoons
