Sea level rise caused by climate change could mean the damage wrought by Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine will be even greater than previous surges, scientists warned this weekend.
Pennsylvania State University geosciences professor Michael Mann told the Guardian, “We are already experiencing more and more flooding due to climate change in every storm. And it’s only the beginning.”
As the storm wound its way up the coast on Sunday after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia last week, National Hurricane Center (NHC) director Rick Knabb warned in a webcast that Hermine “could become hurricane force again.”
The NHC issued a morning advisory that stated, “The combination of a storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.”
In fact, as meteorologist Eric Holtaus wrote for Pacific Standard Mag on Saturday, Hermine’s impact could be worse than Hurricane Sandy for certain communities, such as those in coastal New Jersey.
“Hermine could bring record coastal flooding but only if its peak storm surge aligns with high tide — which will already be a bit higher than normal thanks to the new moon,” Holthaus wrote.
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