Hurricane Kyle Headed for New England; More to Follow?

Will Global Warming Send More Hurricanes like Kyle to the North?

Tropical Storm Kyle is still far out in the Atlantic, but the latest path projections from NOAA show that Maine and the Cape Cod region stand a better than 40% chance of sustaining direct hits. Since Tropical Storm Kyle is expected to strengthen into Hurricane Kyle late Saturday, Kyle may be one of the rare hurricanes that makes landfall in New England while still packing sustained hurricane force winds. The last hurricane to accomplish that was Hurricane Bob in 1991. Is Hurricane Kyle's aim at New England fueled by global warming? Can New Englanders expect more hurricanes like Hurricane Kyle or worse in the future?

An Expert Discusses Hurricane Kyle

I put these questions and others to Dr. Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Foundation. Prior to joining the National Wildlife Federation, Dr. Staudt directed the National Academies Climate Research Committee. Dr. Staudt holds a Doctorate in atmospheric sciences and an A.B. in environmental engineering and sciences from Harvard. I chose to ask these questions of her, because she has recently published a detailed report of the effect of global warming on hurricanes called "The Increasing Vulnerability to Hurricanes: Global Warming's Wake-up Call for the Gulf and Atlantic States." The report concludes that warming oceans are causing hurricanes to become stronger. That fact coupled with a higher population density and more development in coastal areas in the United States puts more people and property in danger from Hurricanes. I wanted to find out if New England is one of those places.

Is Hurricane Kyle the First of Many?