Impact of Prior Weather on Hurricane Intensity

 

Do you wonder why Hurricane Michael intensified so much just before it made landfall in 2018? A new study by NASA scientists looks at this question. The new study,  published in Nature Communications, identifies pre-storm conditions that can contribute to this rapid intensification – an important step in improving the ability to forecast it. The study showed that in 2018, Tropical Storm Gordon, which occurred about a month before Michael, brought up cold water from beneath the surface of the Gulf, as tropical storms often do. But in 2018, an atmospheric heatwave quickly warmed up that cold water. When Michael got near the coast and pulled water to the surface, it was the warm water left from Gordon’s passage, allowing the storm to deepen rapidly just before landfall. You can read more at Meteorological Technology International at https://www.meteorologicaltechnologyinternational.com/news/climate-measurement/study-examines-impact-of-prior-weather-on-hurricane-intensity.html.

 

Video: How Can We Grow More Food With Less Impact?

For over two decades, Dr. Mitloehner has been at the forefront of research on how animal agriculture affects our air and our climate. With deep expertise in emissions and volatile organic compounds, his work initially focused on air quality in regions like California’s Central Valley—home to both the nation’s richest agricultural output and some of its poorest air quality.

In recent years, methane has taken center stage in climate discourse—not just scientifically, but politically. Once a topic reserved for technical discussions about manure management and feed efficiency, it has become a flashpoint in debates over sustainability, regulation, and even the legitimacy of livestock farming itself.

Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Specialist with the CLEAR Center sits down with Associate Director for Communications at the CLEAR Center, Joe Proudman.