Study finds that climate change added 10% to Ian's rainfall
A quick study by two scientists calculates that climate change made Hurricane Ian 10% rainier than it would have been if there were no such thing as global warming
By SETH BORENSTEIN
Published - Sep 29, 2022, 08:46 PM ET
Last Updated - Jun 24, 2023, 05:39 AM EDT
Climate change added at least 10% more rain to Hurricane Ian, a study prepared immediately after the storm shows.
Thursday's research, which is not peer-reviewed, compared peak rainfall rates during the real storm to about 20 different computer scenarios of a model with Hurricane Ian's characteristics slamming into the Sunshine State in a world with no human-caused climate change.
“The real storm was 10% wetter than the storm that might have been,’’ said Lawrence Berkeley National Lab climate scientist Michael Wehner, study co-author.
Forecasters predicted Ian will have dropped up to two feet (61 centimeters) of rain in parts of Florida by the time it stopped.
