May 27, 2022
Expect to see more images this hurricane season of nature's power and fury. Scenes of 100-plus mph winds damaging homes, millions without power, and floods turning streets into rivers could all happen more than normal.
The Atlantic hurricane season starts Wednesday. Federal meteorologists forecast the six-month season could be unusually busy. They predict 14 to 21 named storms in the Atlantic. Six to 10 of those storms could become hurricanes, forecasters say. That means they will pack winds topping 75 mph. The predictions would continue a trend of much busier hurricane seasons in recent years
In fact, we’ve run out of names for Atlantic storms in the past two years. The 30 named storms in 2020 shattered records. Last year, 21 named storms hit the US. They included Hurricane Ida. It made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, lashed nine states, and killed 91 people.
Experts point to a perfect storm of factors this hurricane season, including:
Ike Dike
This article and video describe the proposed Ike Dike project, which is a coastal barrier that, when completed, would protect the coastal region of Texas near Houston and Galveston from storm surges.
Extreme Weather 101
This online course about extreme weather and climate change includes videos, descriptions, interactive quizzes, links to additional information, and handouts.
What Is Environmental Justice?
In this media literacy lesson, students will read an article on the history of the environmental justice movement and examine several media images related to environmental justice, examining the influence of Hurricane Katrina on the movement.