Although the 2005 hurricane season is finally over, the intense beating our southeastern coastline and its residents took still has us shaken. Many of us are also starting to connect the dots between global warming and the more intense hurricane activity we are experiencing, such as with Katrina this past year. Even to a layman, logic dictates the warmer air and water temperatures may have something to do with what appears to be a change for the worst in hurricane acitivity along our Atlantic coasts.

Unfortunately, research indicates these suspicions may not be unfounded. According to information gathered from the PEW Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, Va., due to the effect global warming is considered to have on the intensity of hurricanes we may have more years such as we experienced in 2005. In addition, the center predicts this may be the case for at least the next decade or two.

The PEW Center reports because of the link between higher ocean temperatures and hurricanes, there is speculation that hurricanes will increase in frequency or intensity in a warmer world, with higher wind speeds and greater precipitation. In other words, even though studies show the frequency of hurricanes has not increased on average over the long term, scientists believe that global warming will result in more intense hurricanes, as increasing sea surface temperatures provide energy for storm intensification.

Higher ocean temperatures may also increase the likelihood of hurricanes tracking through the Caribbean or making landfall on the U.S. east coast. Although the phenomenon is not yet completely understood, a track of unusually deep and warm water appears to have led Katrina directly to the Gulf Coast when it struck.

In addition, a recently published MIT study provides the first data analysis indicating tropical storms are indeed becoming more powerful over time. The following statistics recorded by the National Hurricane Center seem supports this data.

The NHC describes the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season as having had