Exactly 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans leaving 1,800 people dead, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds. As I write this column, more than 1 million Louisiana residents are without power, including all of New Orleans, and at least one person has died, according to multiple news outlets. Since making landfall, Ida has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but has still left a significant amount of damage in its wake. According to the Associated Press, Ida is tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. mainland.
This storm is just the latest in what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecast will be a busier-than-average season. It forecasts between 15 and 21 named storms, and three to five of those becoming major hurricanes. The rapid way Ida intensified has raised more questions of how climate change is affecting hurricanes. Most scientists agree on one main thing — global warming is changing storms. According to the New York Times, scientists say the unusually warm surface temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean have helped increase storm activity and strength because warmer waters provide more energy that increase both winds and rain. Warmer temperatures also create slower moving, wider-ranging storms.