--- title: Climate Change: Atlantic Hurricane Drought Explained description: New research shows how "protective barriers" have helped keep major hurricanes from making landfall canonical: https://time.com/4620856/hurricane-drought-global-warming-climate-change/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-04T18:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:20.186Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Have Figured Out Why Big Hurricanes Keep Missing the U.S. og:description: An explanation of "major hurricane drought" og:url: https://time.com/4620856/hurricane-drought-global-warming-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f400990314f9d1f/6988b450524fc05996dfa9d6/hurricane-wilma-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: hurricane wilma climate change og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Have Figured Out Why Big Hurricanes Keep Missing the U.S. twitter:description: An explanation of "major hurricane drought" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f400990314f9d1f/6988b450524fc05996dfa9d6/hurricane-wilma-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Have Figured Out Why Big Hurricanes Keep Missing the U.S. > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Here's Why Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger [Watch (HLS stream): Here's Why Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jQNV5SKM.m3u8) (1:09)  _Published 2016-10-06. Weather forecasters expect Hurricane Matthew to drop nearly a foot of of water in some places with winds hitting 140 mph. Those are frightening numbers, but meteorologists say a phenomenon known as storm surge may be responsible for the most damage._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 4, 2017 6:00 PM UTC  Palm trees bend in the winds of Hurricane Wilma as the storm makes landfall in Plantation, Florida on Oct. 24, 2005\. Wilma was the last major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Palm trees bend in the winds of Hurricane Wilma as the storm makes landfall in Plantation, Florida on Oct. 24, 2005\. Wilma was the last major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 4, 2017 6:00 PM UTC Scientists have scratched their heads in recent years as a series of [major hurricanes](http://time.com/4350816/hurricane-season-outlook-2016/) have steered clear of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, defying probability. Now, new [research](http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature20783) published in the journal _Nature_ explains the unlikely phenomenon as at least in part the result of an occurrence called “protective barriers,” which help keep major hurricanes from making landfall. Cool ocean temperatures combine with strong vertical wind shear, a measure of how quickly wind changes speed or direction, off the Atlantic coast. Faced with those conditions, major hurricanes tend to slow down, according to the research. Sea surface temperatures have risen globally in recent years as a result of man-made climate change, but the results have not affected every region equally. Temperatures have spiked toward the middle of the Atlantic, where hurricanes form, while just off the Atlantic coast temperatures have remained relatively cool. **Read More**: [Why ‘Once-In-A-Lifetime’ Flooding Keeps Happening](http://time.com/4061371/south-carolina-flooding-climate-change/) The high sea surface temperatures toward the middle of the ocean may increase the total number of hurricanes that form in the region. as climate change shifts global precipitation patterns. Many of those storms hit Caribbean islands hard but leave the U.S. largely unscathed (think of [Hurricane Matthew](http://time.com/4516679/hurricane-matthew-us-climate-change/) in 2016). The last major hurricane—defined as a Category 3 storm or stronger with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour—to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in 2005. “When Mother Nature encourages lots of hurricanes to form and strengthen in the tropics, she also tends to slam the door on them if they come near the U.S. coast,” says study author James Kossin, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “This is especially true for major hurricanes that threaten the U.S. coast.” **Read More**: [These Are the Cities Most Vulnerable to the Next Katrina](http://time.com/4012208/katrina-cities-flood-risk/) The phenomenon uncovered in the new research has thus far been good news for the U.S., but the change may not be permanent, Kossin says. Atmospheric patterns in the North Atlantic can take more than a decade to shift, meaning the wind shear and coastal sea surface temperatures that protect the U.S. could easily disappear. Combine that with continued global warming further out in the ocean, and the coast could face many more major hurricanes that make landfall. Still, many of the variables at play remain unanswered. “What I found is a natural see-saw mechanism in the climate system,” says Kossin. “It’s going to take some work to figure out how climate change might affect this system.” Much remains uncertain about the link between climate change and hurricanes, but scientists are now [better able](http://time.com/4255428/climate-change-extreme-weather/) to attribute extreme weather events to climate change than they have been before. Droughts and flooding in particular have been linked to man-made global warming. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The U. S. has been lucky to experience a bit of a hurricane hiatus this past decade. No major storm classified as having wind speed greater than 115 miles per hour has hit the country since 2005. [ MUSIC ] With wind speeds up to 140 miles per hour, Hurricane Matthew changed that. Scientists say that's consistent with the long term pattern they expect from man- made climate change. Storms may not occur more frequently, but when they do, they will be stronger. That's in part because storms form more easily in warmer water. And water has warmed significantly in recent decades. And that's not the only way climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. Sea level rise caused by warm water that has expanded and melting polar ice caps make coastal communities more vulnerable to flooding. Hurricanes like Matthew blow huge quantities of water ashore during a phenomenon called storm surge. An occurrence that gets worse with every inch of sea level rise. 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