Avani Narula ’21
Krisse Esselfie ’21

Hurricane Florence, the deadly Category 5 hurricane that has been sweeping over much of the East Coast, has been just one of the several tropical storms to wreak havoc on the United States in the past couple of years. Peaking at a Category 5 hurricane, Florence raised great floods over vast amounts of land and caused mass evacuations. While the destruction the hurricane left in its path is devastating, hurricanes like this one have certainly been seen before here in the United States. In fact, some scientists are claiming an increase in overall hurricanes these past few years. Have the rate of hurricanes truly increased? And if so, why?

Hurricanes form from evaporated ocean water that forms a cloud of moist air. This cloud rises and grows, heating the clouds around it to form an area of low pressure. The mass of air starts spinning because of the rotation of the Earth and it tumbles towards land before beginning to die off. Leslie Trimble, upper school AP Environmental Science teacher, states, “Most of the time they form in the ocean off the coast of Africa. It has to do with the water vapor coming up off of the ocean and it creates this storm that feeds on itself. That is why it gets so much wind and then it moves across the Atlantic.”

Because hurricanes thrive in warmth and humidity, global warming and climate change is thought to be having the most influential effect on the hurricane situation. Trimble explains, “Scientists are in a debate about whether or not [hurricanes] have actually increased in number, since the data is spotty in the past and also it varies a lot from year to year. This year we are only up to F (Florence) while other years we have had way more.” Trimble states that one thing scientists do know is that “hurricane season is starting earlier than it used to and that is because the ocean water is warmer because of climate change.” Trimble also notes that “the intensity of the storms is more. Since there is more heat in the water, it makes the storm more intense.” Trimble states that the flooding was worse because “there is more water in the storm,” due to melting ice caps and higher ocean levels.

One of the many places struck by Hurricane Florence was Elon University, located in Elon, North Carolina. EA alumnus Andrew Schellenger ‘18 who now attends Elon University explains his experience, “Personally I evacuated that Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM and got a flight back home they had told us it was going to be a category 4 almost 5 hurricane so a lot of us were freaking out. They were saying 10-15 inches of rain w/ 120 mph gusts of wind. It ended up not even hitting campus but a majority of students evacuated.” Thankfully, the storm was not especially harsh at Elon, but it was more than enough to cancel school for a significant amount of time. Elon, like many other schools in the area, highlighted safety as their top priority.
John Dooley Ph.D, Vice President of Student Life at Elon, explained in a student email “As the storm continues to weaken and students plan their return, safety should continue to be a priority… Students are advised to check the conditions of the places they will be traveling to or from and to make decisions consistent with their own personal safety…” Sydney Donaldson ‘17, who also attends Elon University, explained her encounter with the storm, “After we received an email encouraging us to evacuate, the school gave options such as shuttles to the airport. However, I ended up just driving home, it took 10 hours. When they made the call originally we were supposed to be in the eye of the hurricane, but then it ended up shifting and it barely even rained. There was no damage when I returned to campus.”

Armed with this information, the logical question is, how can we prepare for and prevent excessive loss from future hurricanes? Trimble explains, “The most important thing is that if there is an evacuation, you really need to evacuate. A lot of people think that they can ride it out, but they don’t realize that flood water can come up really quickly. You think that you can get out with your car, but your car isn’t going to work because the water is too high. Flood water comes too fast and you are not going to be able to get out.”

Although hurricanes may be becoming more frequent and destructive due to rising temperatures, by heeding warnings and taking caution, we can prevent them from causing such devastation in the future.