Storm Spike Due To Stronger Tech

On the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the agency charged with weather forecasting recently found that more storms have been identified since the late 19th century because of advances in information technology, not because there are more storms.

A study led by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discovered that the apparent rise in the number of tropical storms and hurricanes is likely due to improvements in computational models and satellites that track fleeting storms, the agency reported on August 11.

"Several storms in the last two seasons, including 2007's Andrea, Chantal, Jerry and Melissa and 2008's Arthur and Nana, would likely not have been considered tropical storms had it not been for technology such as satellite observations from NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT), the European ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) and NOAA's Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), as well as analysis techniques such as the Florida State University's Cyclone Phase Space," NOAA officials stated.

A perhaps more controversial finding: the boom in short-lived storms is not due to climate change.

"The recent jump in the number of short-lived systems is likely a consequence of improvements in observational tools and analysis techniques," said lead author Chris Landsea, science and operations officer at NOAA's Miami, Fla.-based National Hurricane Center. "The team is not aware of any natural variability or greenhouse warming-induced climate change that would affect the short-lived tropical storms exclusively."