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Hurricane Florence is intensifying as it churns across the Atlantic and is expected to hit the U.S. East Coast on Thursday — creating dangerous storm surge, heavy rain, flooding and destructive winds. The following researchers from the Northeast Regional Climate Center, located at Cornell University, are available for interviews.
Arthur DeGaetano
Professor of earth and atmospheric sciences
Arthur DeGaetano is director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and an expert on climate data. He says that as the climate warms and sea levels rise, hurricanes such as Florence and tropical storms will cause higher storm surges, more rain, and heightened risk of flooding in the Northeast.
DeGaetano says:
“It is unclear as to whether the frequency of hurricanes in the Atlantic will change in the coming decades. However, rising sea-levels will result in higher storm surge for those tropical storms and hurricanes that do occur. Warming temperatures and increased levels of moisture in the atmosphere will likely increase the rainfall associated with these storms. Currently in the Northeast inland flooding from rainfall is a major impact of some hurricanes.”
Jessica Spaccio
Climatologist, Northeast Regional Climate Center
Jessica Spaccio is a climatologist with the Northeast Regional Climate Center.
Samantha Borisoff
Extension Support Specialist
Samantha Borisoff is a climatologist with the Northeast Regional Climate Center.
