Dr. William Gray, at Colorado State University, claims that we are in a cycle of unprecedented activity and violence for hurricanes; partially because of La Nina.


>>>Can you spell G*L*O*B*A*L W*A*R*M*I*N*G ?
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>>Hmmm...but didn't you just say that hurricanes are becoming less frequent? :)
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>>Actually in an in-depth anaysis last night, the size and strength of this one were blamed laregly on La Nina, which is causing warmer that usual waters in the Atlantic, while cooler than usual in the Pacific. That's the reason why the Pacific has been virtually hurricane-free this year...
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>I'm reserving judgement on whether they are less frequent until I get better data.
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>The El Nino/La Nina cycle certainly has a lot to do with hurricanes. El Nino tends to reduce Atlantic tropical cyclones by causing Easterly winds which blow the tops off the hot air cells which precede them.
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>So any relation between global warming and frequency of hurricanes may be hard to specify. OTOH, I think we can say with some certainty that if the oceans warm then the intensity of hurricanes will increase.
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>It would appear that the El Nino phenomenon is becoming more frequent which is consistent with global warming.
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>We will be watching this situation for many years.
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>Peter