© 2026 ABC News

But it's not just the surface water that's gotten warmer due to climate change, the deeper water has too.

Typically, the water underneath the surface is cooler, so when strong winds from a storm stir it up with the warm water at the surface, the cool water helps bring the intensity of the storm systems down, Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research, told ABC News.

While the temperatures for August are not yet available, July was \"exceptionally warm\" at 50 meters below the surface, Trenberth said, adding that the buildup of heat has a \"substantial climate change component.\"

\"PHOTO:
Devika Krishna Kumar/Reuters
PHOTO: The Shell Norco manufacturing facility is flooded after Hurricane Ida pummeled Norco, La., Aug. 30, 2021.
>

\"With exceptionally warm subsurface waters, the hurricane is instead continually fueled and leads to more activity,\" Trenberth said.

More moisture in the atmosphere leads to more rainfall

The warming planet has allowed more moisture to be held in the atmosphere, allowing monster storms the capacity to accumulate and precipitate that moisture when they fall onto land, Smerdon said.

\"More moisture in the atmosphere means more moisture in the hurricanes, which means more moisture that they ultimately dump out when they make landfall,\" Smerdon said.

Ida drenched portions of Louisiana in more than 13 inches of rain and continued onto other regions, such as Waverly, Tennessee, as the system slowed and weakened.

On Wednesday, the remnants of Ida were forecast to bring severe storms and heavy rain to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, more than three days after it made landfall in Louisiana.

\"PHOTO:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
PHOTO: People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey, on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston.
>

That kind of longevity in precipitation that resulted from Ida will unfortunately become \"more commonplace,\" Smerdon said, noting that in 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped 2 to 4 feet of rain in the Houston metropolitan area over several days.

\"We've seen it elsewhere, from flooding in Europe this summer and Waverly, Tennessee, last week, because of the increased moisture in the atmosphere,\" Smerdon said.

Rising sea levels are making storm surge more destructive

As ice sheets and glaciers accelerate their melting, sea levels continue rising rapidly, which also boosts hurricanes' destructive capacity.

Storms are now operating on sea levels higher than they were 100 years ago, Smerdon said. This puts coastal communities -- built for the sea level of some years ago -- more at risk.

\"Now we're getting storm surges that are more damaging,\" Ripple said.

\"PHOTO:
Eric Gay/AP
PHOTO: A section of roof that was blown off of a building in the French Quarter by Hurricane Ida winds blocks an intersection, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans.
>

Officials and communities need to be prepared

Every country will need to undergo climate adaptation as natural disasters of all kinds intensify in proportion to rising global temperatures.

\"Both government officials and residents in hurricane-prone zones will need to heed a higher level of preparation as Earth moves from the early stages of significant climate change,\" Ripple said.

In addition, large-scale mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions will be needed to curb climate change and all of the ramifications that come with it, Ripple added.

\"So we need to encourage our policymakers and plead with them to do more to curb future climate change, to help mitigate climate change, to try to put a lid on it,\" he said. \"...Things could get much worse than they are right now.\"

ABC News' Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/hurricane-ida-aftermath-climate-change-making-hurricanes-devastating/story?id=79727034","legacySlug":"/news/story/hurricane-ida-aftermath-climate-change-making-hurricanes-devastating-79727034","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"10:45","publishDate":"09-01-2021","updatedTime":"17:47","updatedDate":"09-01-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Flooded streets and homes are shown in the Spring Meadow subdivision in LaPlace, La., after Hurricane Ida moved through Aug. 30, 2021.","credit":"Steve Helber/AP","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/laplace-flooding-ida-gty-jt-210839_1630359889922_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/1/2021 10:45:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":79727034,"headline":"How climate change is impacting hurricanes","mediaAssetTitle":"CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS HURRICANES","description":"Catastrophic natural disasters will become more commonplace, experts say.","duration":"1:16","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210901_vod_climate_change_hurricanes_final_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133707237","133144263","132956835"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 14, 2026","headline":"Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","section":"News","slug":"/video/132956835","id":"132956835","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"How climate change is impacting hurricanes","description":"Catastrophic natural disasters will become more commonplace, experts say.","duration":"1:16","uploadDate":"09-01-2021","publication":"09-01-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210901_vod_climate_change_hurricanes_final_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210901_vod_climate_change_hurricanes_final_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/hurricane-ida-aftermath-climate-change-making-hurricanes-devastating-79727034"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"How climate change is impacting hurricanes","pubTime":"06:45","pubDate":"09-01-2021","modTime":"13:47","modDate":"09-01-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":79727034,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"How climate change is impacting hurricanes","mediaAssetTitle":"CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS HURRICANES","videoId":79727034,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/hurricane-ida-aftermath-climate-change-making-hurricanes-devastating-79727034"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/79727034","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/79727034","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};