Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research

Tropical and extratropical cyclone research examines how these powerful rotating storm systems form, intensify, and move through the atmosphere, with particular attention to how a warming climate is shifting their behavior. As global temperatures rise and sea levels climb, scientists are working to determine whether hurricanes and typhoons are becoming more intense on average, more frequent at higher latitudes, or both — questions with direct consequences for coastal flooding, storm surge damage, and long-term infrastructure planning. A central challenge is disentangling the influence of large-scale climate signals, such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation and changes in wind shear, from the underlying warming trend, since these factors can either suppress or amplify cyclone activity in ways that vary by region. Understanding how these competing forces interact remains one of the more pressing open problems, especially as better observational records and high-resolution climate models begin to offer more reliable projections of future storm risk.

Works

69,498

Total citations

896,651

Keywords

Tropical CyclonesClimate ChangeHurricanesStorm SurgeGlobal WarmingIntensity