NOAA’s GOES-East satellite provided a visible-light image of Tropical Storm Harvey on August 30th, 2017, at 7:30AM ET after it made landfall at 4AM CT just west of Cameron, Louisiana. | Photo by Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Hurricanes are taking longer to weaken after making landfall because of climate change, according to a new study. As a result, stronger storms could wreak havoc on communities farther inland, the study finds. It’s the latest warning that hurricanes could cause even more devastation in a warming world.
Hurricanes feed off heat energy from the sea. The more heat, the more energy — and the more intense hurricanes can become. There’s already evidence that the strongest hurricanes have become more common. But once a hurricane reaches land, it’s cut off from its source of energy and typically begins to rapidly lose strength. Now, thanks to the new study published today in the journal Nature, scientists are beginning to understand that global…