Dolin publishes new book on how understanding hurricanes can help us prepare

Editor's note: The following is from an op-ed written by Eric Jay Dolin for TIME Magazine on his newest book, A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred Year History of America's Hurricanes.

I have long been fascinated by hurricanes, even though my personal experience with them is minimal and not particularly noteworthy, having lived in New England, where hurricanes are infrequent visitors, most of my life. In 1991 I toured the wreckage Hurricane Bob left in its wake on the shores of Cape Cod, and in 2012 I watched the massive waves from Hurricane Sandy pound the beaches and lead to coastal flooding in my hometown of Marblehead, Mass.

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A growing number of studies have found strong evidence linking global warming to increased precipitation during hurricanes. Extensive research also predicts that warmer oceans, which provide more heat energy to fuel hurricanes, will make the winds produced by these storms even stronger. Other studies project that in a warmer world hurricanes will linger longer, meaning that affected areas will be pummeled not only by more prolonged winds but also by extended periods of deluging rain.

The long and devastating history of hurricanes can help society make more informed decisions about how to confront what is likely to be an increasingly tempestuous future—if we pay attention. I pray that we do, and that we will be ready for whatever the skies may bring.

Additional Resources

A History of Hurricanes in America and the Devastation They Have Wrought, New York Times

How Hurricanes Have Shaped the Course of U.S. History, Smithsonian Magazine

How Understanding the History of Hurricanes Can Help Us Prepare for the Next Big One, TIME Magazine