Tropical Cyclones

The intensity of Atlantic hurricanes has increased in recent years, a pattern that is consistent with climate change. Warming oceans store increasing amounts of heat energy and fuel stronger storms.3

Globally, the strongest tropical cyclones have increased in intensity, with the most significant increases occurring in the Atlantic. The available evidence is that this has been due to a combination of natural variability and climate change. Gaps in records from the last century and other issues make it difficult to be precise about the relative influences at this stage, but climate change is expected to dominate in the future.4

The Atlantic hurricane season is also getting longer, at a rate of 5 to 10 days per decade. The broadening of the season correlates with rising sea surface temperatures; each degree Celsius temperature change corresponds to a 20-day shift in both the beginning and end of hurricane season. Here too, however, due to the uneven state of record keeping, we cannot rule out the possibility of a role for natural variation in this trend.5

- See more at: http://www.climatecommunication.org/new/features/extreme-weather/summer-storms/#sthash.ztYwJCZ2.dpuf