Special Report Hurricanes
Hurricane study whips up a storm
Global warming could decrease the number of hurricanes hitting the US, say researchers – but their findings have been hotly debated
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Hurricane study whips up a storm
Global warming could decrease the number of hurricanes hitting the US, say researchers – but their findings have been hotly debatedBreaking News - 25 January 2008 -
Saharan dust clouds could aid hurricane prediction
The cooling effect of sun-blocking dust clouds blown across the Atlantic may inhibit hurricane formation, say NASA scientistsNews - 07 January 2008 -
Swarms of tiny aircraft could track hurricanes
Small uncrewed aircraft that link up to form an airborne network could coordinate their own flights while collecting scientific dataBreaking News - 30 November 2007 -
Snowflakes may be guiding force for hurricanes
Water droplets and snowflakes may help steer the most powerful storms on the planet, according to researchersNews - 27 November 2007 -
Air-dropped dams could fix levee breaches
Massive self-filling water-bags could be dropped by helicopters to rapidly repair levees breached by storm damageBreaking News - 31 August 2007 -
Hurricane Dean decimated Mexican ecosystems
When the category 5 hurricane hit the Yucatan peninsula, the region's reefs, forests and wildlife took a heavy hitNews - 31 August 2007 -
Are devastating hurricanes becoming the norm?
Does hurricane Dean signal the start of a new, more intense bout of hurricane activity, or is it just that we are getting better at measuring them?News - 25 August 2007 -
Hurricane Dean intensifies as it heads for Mexico
The storm could become a Category Five hurricane later on Monday before hitting the Mexican mainland, the US National Hurricane Centre saysBreaking News - 20 August 2007 -
Frequent hurricanes decimate sea turtle beaches
The destruction of loggerhead and green turtle nests in Florida by tropical storms appears to be on the riseNews - 13 August 2007 -
Atlantic hurricane frequency doubled last century
Major shifts in the number of North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes are due to climate change, not cyclic events, says a new analysisNews - 04 August 2007 -
Tropical storms stepping up with climate change
Hurricane Dean is threatening to become a major hurricane - just three weeks after a new study suggested that major shifts in the number of North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes are due to climate change, not cyclic eventsBreaking News - 30 July 2007 -
Have hurricanes met their match in El Niño?
As climate change whips up more severe hurricanes in the Atlantic, warming in the eastern Pacific may have a calming effectNews - 23 May 2007 -
Hurricanes sparked by African thunderstorms
A large proportion of Atlantic hurricanes are preceded by lightning storms over east Africa, which could provide a useful forecasting toolNews - 16 May 2007 -
Climate myths: Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming
It's impossible to attribute any single event to climate change but it is possible to determine whether there is a long-term trend in the frequency or intensity of extreme eventsBreaking News - 16 May 2007 -
Wind shear may cancel climate's effect on hurricanes
Hurricane activity in the Atlantic may not increase as a result of global warming after all, suggest a new study of changes in tropical wind patternsBreaking News - 18 April 2007 -
Serendipitous sensors pick up storm surge's secret
Hurricanes can wreak havoc by creating a surge - a huge wall of water that slams ashore. Now fortuitously placed equipment has shed light on how they occurNews - 31 March 2007 -
Storm predictions warn of nasty season ahead
The chances of powerful Atlantic hurricanes barrelling into the US during the 2007 season are much greater than usual, a new report suggestsBreaking News - 21 March 2007 -
Journey to eye of the storm reveals hurricane's secrets
Researchers flying through hurricanes Rita and Katrina have shown how sudden changes in intensity can occurBreaking News - 01 March 2007 -
Hurricane history is written in stalagmites
A new technique gives us a new way of measuring hurricanes going back thousands of years, instead of the 60 years with meteorological recordsNews - 13 February 2007 -
Global warming link to hurricanes likely but unproven
Climate change is expected to affect cyclones and hurricanes, according to a statement from 125 experts, but the evidence to date is inconclusiveBreaking News - 14 December 2006 -
Why splitting the Mississippi won't save the wetlands
The controversy over how best to restore Louisiana's marshy coastline has been reignited - and the stakes could barely be higherNews - 30 September 2006 -
Tiny uncrewed aircraft to fly into hurricanes
The "aerosonde" will head right into the eye of a storm, skimming low above the sea, to shed light on how hurricanes gain their strengthBreaking News - 12 September 2006 -
The calm before the storm for America's hurricane coasts
This time last year Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans, but this year the season has begun tamely - is global warming off the hook?News - 26 August 2006 -
Hurricane Katrina's waves felt in California
In August 2005, as Katrina rumbled towards New Orleans, an enormous seismic hum was felt nearly 3000 miles away, created by the stormNews - 23 September 2006 -
Hurricane Katrina: One year later
In the 12 months since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, many of the areas destroyed by the storms have yet to be rebuilt or repopulatedBreaking News - 29 August 2006 -
Scientists to stake out world's hurricane nursery
Teams will focus a fleet of satellites, aircraft, and radar on the belts of thunderstorms and low pressure flowing west from the tropical African coastBreaking News - 27 July 2006 -
Relief as tropical storm Chris wanes
The US National Hurricane Center issued its first hurricane watch of the North Atlantic season, but now says it is “barely a tropical storm”Breaking News - 03 August 2006 -
Raiders of the lost storms
Will a warmer world bring more monster hurricanes? Hunting for traces of ancient tempests should reveal the answerFeatures - 10 June 2006 -
Hurricane nursery to be examined up close
The coast of west Africa plays a key role in giving birth to and fostering hurricanes, and it is now getting the scientific attention it deservesNews - 05 August 2006 -
Are there really more hurricanes?
As the North Atlantic hurricane season cranks up, so do the arguments over what is boosting them - or perhaps not boosting themNews - 06 June 2006 -
Storm surges threaten US economic heartlands
The risk of inundation hangs over the north-east coast, yet little is being done to prepare - can the authorities be persuaded to act before it's too late?News - 05 June 2006 -
Radar satellite maps the sinking of New Orleans
The new map provides the most detailed picture yet of the city’s subsidence – it could help the engineers rebuilding the city avoid the faster-sinking areasBreaking News - 31 May 2006 -
Hurricane season in overdrive…again
Batten down the hatches - hurricane activity in the North Atlantic is expected to be above average this year, perhaps repeating recent levelsNews - 27 May 2006 -
Tropical storms turn up heat in climate battle
The hurricane wars have resumed, with renewed claims that global warming is behind the increasing numbers of high-intensity hurricanesNews - 25 March 2006
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Expert Guide
Instant Expert: Hurricanes
A hurricane is a fiercely powerful rotating tropical storm that is 200 to 2000 kilometres across. Hurricanes have a calm central region of low pressure between 20 and 100 kilometres across, known as the eye. They occur in tropical regions around the world, and are called typhoons in south-east Asia and the Pacific, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Australia.
The term hurricane is derived from Huracan, the name of a Mayan storm god. Over its lifetime, one of these massive storms can release as much energy as a million Hiroshima nuclear bombs.
The brutality of each annual hurricane season shifts according to decadal variation, but there is now evidence to suggest global warming could be making hurricanes more frequent and unpredictable. As populations and economies grow along coastal regions, the damage from these storm is increasing.
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Australia bears onslaught of huge cyclone
The severe Category 5 storm is only the fifth of such intensity to hit Australia in recorded history – and another is comingBreaking News - 20 March 2006 -
New analysis says global warming boosts hurricanes
Further support for claims that climate change is driving the increased number of high-intensity hurricanes across the world is revealedBreaking News - 16 March 2006 -
New Orleans fights for survival
It is hurricane season in three months' time and still the arguments rage over how to protect the Big EasyNews - 28 February 2006 -
Hurricane Katrina leaves lasting trauma in her wake
Though the immediate threat is over, there are concerns that the disaster will have a devastating long-term impact on survivors' mental healthNews - 14 January 2006 -
Review 2005: The year of the hurricane
The North Atlantic served up more tropical storms and hurricanes than ever before, in a year of broken records and shattered livesNews - 24 December 2005 -
Is global warming making hurricanes stronger?
A bitter controversy is raging over whether global warming is making hurricanes stronger. Fred Pearce reportsFeatures - 03 December 2005 -
Hurricane season refuses to blow over
The record-breaking North Atlantic season breaks habits too, and sends a storm towards Africa, while tropical storm Epsilon brewsBreaking News - 29 November 2005 -
Ship canal was storm funnel during Katrina
A short cut for shipping into New Orleans acted as a "storm surge superhighway", funnelling water into the city when the hurricane struckNews - 05 November 2005 -
Louisiana slips into the sea
There is little chance of restoring many parts of the US state's storm-ravaged coastline, a new report findsNews - 19 November 2005 -
Hurricane Wilma turns away after lashing Florida
The record-breaking hurricane is speeding across the Atlantic after causing widespread damageBreaking News - 25 October 2005 -
Wilma hits Florida, Alpha breaks record
Hurricane Wilma arrives at the Florida peninsula, while Alpha is the 22nd tropical storm of the busiest season on recordBreaking News - 24 October 2005 -
Living where the sky falls in
Why do we insist on living in the world's most dangerous natural disaster zones? We should learn the lessons of history, says Simon WinchesterComment - 29 October 2005 -
Hurricane Stan strikes Central America and Mexico
At least 225 people have been killed through floods and mudslides and at least 225,000 others have fled their homes after days of rainBreaking News - 07 October 2005 -
A tale of two hurricanes
Comparing and contrasting hurricanes Rita and KatrinaNews - 01 October 2005 -
Relief as Rita fails to match Katrina
The hurricane missed densely populated areas, but flooding and storm damage have devastated the region near the border between Texas and LouisianaBreaking News - 26 September 2005 -
South Atlantic hurricane rings climate alarm bells
Hurricane Catarina hit Brazil in March 2004 and was the first and only hurricane ever recorded in the South Atlantic - global warming may be to blameNews - 24 September 2005 -
Warming world blamed for more strong hurricanes
Since the 1970s, the number of the most powerful hurricanes has near-doubled - Katrina-strength cyclones could become the global normBreaking News - 15 September 2005 -
Could humans tackle hurricanes?
Calming cyclones down or steering them off course before they make landfall would be a good way to stop a storm striking a city – in theoryBreaking News - 14 September 2005 -
New Orleans staggers back to its feet
Floodwaters are being drained and commercial flights are set to resume – meanwhile, Hurricane Ophelia remains lurking off the Carolina coastBreaking News - 12 September 2005 -
Editorial: Disasters are always in the making
Tragedies like New Orleans are inevitable - taxpayers and politicians worldwide must change their thinking about the cost of disaster preventionComment - 10 September 2005 -
Majority of New Orleans evacuation complete
But the death toll from Hurricane Katrina is likely to be in the thousands and half a million refugees may suffer long-term displacementBreaking News - 05 September 2005 -
New Orleans struggles in wake of deadliest hurricane
The most destructive US natural disaster in living memory, Hurricane Katrina, has left New Orleans floundering in chaosBreaking News - 02 September 2005 -
Satellites spot ‘hot towers’ in Hurricane Katrina
Images of the devastating hurricane’s development show huge clouds that may be linked to increases in ferocity, say NASABreaking News - 31 August 2005 -
Hurricane Katrina devastates US Gulf states
The hurricane, now weakening and sheared apart, caused a storm surge of up to 28 feet and led to at least 50 deathsBreaking News - 30 August 2005 -
Global warming may pump up hurricane power
Hurricanes’ destructive power in two closely-monitored regions has doubled in just 30 years – sea-surface temperature increases could be to blameBreaking News - 01 August 2005 -
Oil on troubled waters may stop hurricanes
The traditional sailors’ practice of dumping oil overboard during a storm may lower wind speeds by reducing ocean spray, a new study suggestsBreaking News - 25 July 2005 -
Hurricane Emily whirls into Mexico
The second dangerous Category 4 Atlantic hurricane of 2005 ripped into Mexico’s Yucatan coast as thousands of tourists fled its pathBreaking News - 18 July 2005 -
Long stormy summer to come in US
Floridians take cover - the hurricane season is off to an early start, and experts warn there is a lot more stormy weather to comeNews - 16 July 2005 -
Hurricane Dennis tracks Ivan’s path of destruction
The cyclone ploughed through the Caribbean, killing an estimated 20 people, before hitting the US Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoonBreaking News - 11 July 2005 -
Earth trembles as big winds move in
Hurricanes can trigger swarms of weak earthquakes and even set the Earth vibrating, according to the first study of such effectsNews - 01 July 2005 -
Global warming will bring fiercer hurricanes
There is no proof that climate change has increased the number of Atlantic hurricanes, but they are getting wetter and more powerfulNews - 25 June 2005 -
Unusual Pacific hurricane hits Central America
The first tropical storm of the season, Adrian, has arrived early, taking an unexpected path and striking the coasts of El Salvador and GuatemalaBreaking News - 20 May 2005
