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Science 20 July 2001:
Vol. 293. no. 5529, pp. 474 - 479
DOI: 10.1126/science.1060040
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Reports

The Recent Increase in Atlantic Hurricane Activity: Causes and Implications

Stanley B. Goldenberg,1* Christopher W. Landsea,1 Alberto M. Mestas-Nuñez,2 William M. Gray3

The years 1995 to 2000 experienced the highest level of North Atlantic hurricane activity in the reliable record. Compared with the generally low activity of the previous 24 years (1971 to 1994), the past 6 years have seen a doubling of overall activity for the whole basin, a 2.5-fold increase in major hurricanes (>=50 meters per second), and a fivefold increase in hurricanes affecting the Caribbean. The greater activity results from simultaneous increases in North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures and decreases in vertical wind shear. Because these changes exhibit a multidecadal time scale, the present high level of hurricane activity is likely to persist for an additional ~10 to 40 years. The shift in climate calls for a reevaluation of preparedness and mitigation strategies.

1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/Hurricane Research Division, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
2 Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies/University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
3 Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Stanley.Goldenberg{at}noaa.gov

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