Richard Lindzen, who I rate as an AGW skeptic rather than a denier, because he actually does have some scientific credibility on atmospheric science (I have his book Atmospheric Dynamics ) pointed out that because of the warming at the poles, there would be less transfer of heat from the tropics toward the poles. All things being equal, that would certainly be true from basic physics. While all things are not necessarily equal, I’ll go with that bit of basic physics here.
What that assertion does imply is that the number of hurricanes that reach into higher latitudes should not increase. But it also means that hurricanes which reach higher latitudes do so because they are stronger. So, using Lindzen’s logic we can expect that the hurricanes that reach higher latitudes will be fewer, but stronger.
But that warm water in the tropics and subtropics will still give rise to storms and to hurricanes. I would expect the Gulf Coast and Florida to see more rain and storms. The east coast may also see more tropical storms, which will pick up warm water from the Gulf Stream as they near landfall. So the heavy rains will keep happening.
Geophysical fluid dynamics, by the way, means that that the Gulf Stream will remain flowing up the East Coast of North America. That part does not depend on temperature. However, what happens to the Gulf Stream after it leaves the East Coast and goes deeper into the North Atlantic is less certain. If it continues its present course, it will mean warmer weather for Britain and Ireland, and possibly Norway.
Richard Lindzen, who I rate as an AGW skeptic rather than a denier, because he actually does have some scientific credibility on atmospheric science (I have his book Atmospheric Dynamics ) pointed out that because of the warming at the poles, there would be less transfer of heat from the tropics toward the poles. All things being equal, that would certainly be true from basic physics. While all things are not necessarily equal, I’ll go with that bit of basic physics here.
What that assertion does imply is that the number of hurricanes that reach into higher latitudes should not increase. But it also means that hurricanes which reach higher latitudes do so because they are stronger. So, using Lindzen’s logic we can expect that the hurricanes that reach higher latitudes will be fewer, but stronger.
But that warm water in the tropics and subtropics will still give rise to storms and to hurricanes. I would expect the Gulf Coast and Florida to see more rain and storms. The east coast may also see more tropical storms, which will pick up warm water from the Gulf Stream as they near landfall. So the heavy rains will keep happening.
Geophysical fluid dynamics, by the way, means that that the Gulf Stream will remain flowing up the East Coast of North America. That part does not depend on temperature. However, what happens to the Gulf Stream after it leaves the East Coast and goes deeper into the North Atlantic is less certain. If it continues its present course, it will mean warmer weather for Britain and Ireland, and possibly Norway.