Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was a devastating hurricane that killed 285 people and lasted from October 22 to October 31st 2012. Sandy developed as a tropical wave in the western Caribbean on October 22nd. Sandy gradually intensified and by October 24th it reached landfall in Jamaica and became a hurricane. After being pushed back out into sea it became a category 2 hurricane. On October 25th Sandy hit Cuba and became a category 3 hurricane. It later weakened back to a category 1 hurricane. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy curved north-northwest and then moved ashore to the East coast of the United states where it became a cyclone with tropical force winds.

Hurricane Sandy was the worst hurricane in 2012 and was also the second most costliest hurricane that the United States has ever seen. Why was Hurricane Sandy so bad? Many scientist around the world believe that global warming played a major role in this storm.

Global warming and Hurricane Sandy.

Speculation began as to whether or not hurricane Sandy was caused by global warming. This is a very controversial topic but scientific research shows that climate change does have an effect on the severity and increased frequency in these kinds of storms. According to the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Ice and Climate  “hurricanes in the southeast Atlantic have become more frequent over the past 90 years, with more storms in years where water temperature is higher.

Ocean Temperature

The ocean water in which hurricane Sandy developed is warmer than the historically norm. Warm water is what makes hurricanes more powerful.  The water during hurricane Sandy was several degrees warmer than the norm. This is a direct cause for the power of the storm because when it moved north it became stronger rather than weaker. Those warm waters are, by definition global warming: they’re one of the things we measure when we’re measuring global temperature trends.

Hurricane Sandy also turned left as it came north which is an unusual direction for a storm, and is why the storm was moved into the east coast. According to Why did it do that? Because of an unusual weather pattern in the Northeast Atlantic, called a negative North Atlantic oscillation. According to the Climate Prediction Center  ”Strong positive phases of the NAO tend to be associated with above-average temperatures in the eastern United States and across northern Europe and below-average temperatures in Greenland”.

North Atlantic Oscillation

In conclusion, hurricane Sandy was a devastating storm that ruined the lives of many people. Whether or not global warming was what caused the storm is up for you to decide.