Hurricane Florence September 2018
Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville, North Carolina Friday morning, September 14, as a Category 1 hurricane. Widespread rainfall totals of 20 to 25 inches, with isolated storm totals of greater than 30 inches, were recorded.[1] Elizabethtown received 35.93 inches between 2:00p EDT in September 13 and 10:00a EDT September 17.
Rainfall increased by over 50 percent in the heaviest precipitating parts of Florence due to human interference in the climate system, according to a first-of-its-kind advanced forecast attribution statement about the influence of climate change on a tropical cyclone.[2] Additionally, a rapid analysis found that sea level rise was responsible for 11,000 (20%) of the homes impacted by Florence's storm surge.[3]
Climate change affects hurricane activity and amplifies the damages in several ways including: (1) increasing the rainfall that drops during the storm, (2) increasing sea surface temperatures which in turn raises the maximum potential energy that a storm can reach, and (3) elevating storm surge, via sea level rise, which greatly extends the storm's reach along low-lying areas.
Sea surface temperatures along Florence's path were 3.6°F (2°C) hotter than normal.[4] The storm progressed slowly for several days near the US coastline, bringing extreme precipitation totals to the Southeast.[5] A similar situation contributed to the record rainfall during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.