Hurricanes are a significant issue that can be caused by a multitude of factors. Recognizing the patterns of hurricanes is important in future prevention of incidents. This study aimed to record multiple records of hurricanes and frame these patterns in a time scale ranging from 1850 to the present day. It has been observed that the majority of hurricane formation is constrained to late summer and early autumn. This is significant because it specifies and exemplifies the secondary discovery that the amount of heavily destructive hurricanes has been increasing over the past century. The third discovery this study makes is the lack of evidence for an increase in hurricane formation, which provides evidence that the increase in category 5 hurricanes is not due to an increase in overall hurricanes.
The findings of this study are supported by research that has been conducted in recent years. The discovery made in this study that there has not been a significant increase in hurricanes is agreed upon by research that has adjusted the amount of hurricanes to account for differences in observation methods that change over time (Knutson and Vecchi 2011). It is currently unknown if the apparent increase in category 5 hurricanes is due to similar factors. Whether or not the quantity of hurricanes has been increasing in recent years is a debated topic. Other research suggests that observations only show a weak trend in Atlantic hurricane patterns over the past century and a half, but have more variability from decade to decade, another result observed in this study (Chan et al., 2021). Regardless, this research supports this study’s objective by suggesting conclusions on what specific factors of hurricanes have changed from 1850.
While observing hurricane patterns from year to year or decade to decade is important, it is also important to recognize how hurricane formation is impacted on a month to month basis throughout any given year. This focus doesn’t represent any sort of change in hurricane season activity from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Instead, it is meant to be observed in conjunction with the other conclusions found in this paper. By doing this, a greater understanding can be developed not only on how hurricane patterns are developing in recent years, but also what time of the year these changes are most drastic in. The increase in category 5 hurricanes in recent years compounds with the observation that hurricanes are most prevalent in the late summer and early fall. This means that it is even more important to increase preparedness for hurricanes during this time of year.
While this study aimed to analyze the general patterns of hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean, this objective was impaired by the lack of data regarding hurricanes that have formed before 1900. Technology during this time was less sophisticated that it is today, which reduces the accuracy of wind speed measurements. This limitation has likely skewed the amount of category 5 hurricanes to a lower amount than what actually occurred. The methods of hurricane observation of this time was heavily dependent on observations from boats, and these observations were less common in the 1800s. This leaves a level of uncertainty in how many hurricanes actually formed from 1850 to about 1920.
The significance of this research is shown by the climate crisis the Earth is currently experiencing. The positive relationship between more erratic weather and increasing global temperatures makes the quantity and severity of hurricanes relevant to this topic. Due to the extreme cost on human lives and infrastructure that hurricanes have, observing the patterns that hurricanes exhibit is important in protecting people from the dangers that hurricanes pose.
Changes in Atlantic Hurricane Patterns since 1850 