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The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is halfway through and, like 2020, is expected to be an above-normal hurricane season, as estimated by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

As of September 14, there have been over a dozen named storms, including major hurricanes Grace, Ida, and Larry, that reached Category 3 status or higher. Computer climate models predict that rising ocean temperatures—warm water being fuel for hurricanes—impact storm activity. But does this mean that as our planet warms, hurricanes are actually becoming stronger and more destructive?

Alok Patel speaks with climate scientists and a hurricane researcher to get inside the anatomy of tropical storms, and to better understand what the evidence shows, and what we can expect for the future.

NOVA Now is a production of GBH and PRX. It’s produced by: Terence Bernardo Ari Daniel Jocelyn Gonzales Isabel Hibbard Sandra Lopez-Monsalve Rosalind Tordesillas

Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt are the co-Executive Producers of NOVA. Dante Graves is Director of Audience Development. Sukee Bennett is Senior Digital Editor. Christina Monnen is Associate Researcher. Robin Kazmier is Science Editor. Lorena Lyon is Digital Production Assistant Devin Robins is Managing Producer of Podcasts at GBH.

Our theme music is by the DJ that makes it rain with funky beats, DJ Kid Koala.

Image credits: NASA Johnson, Flickr

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