Climate change increased wind speeds for every 2024 Atlantic hurricane: Analysis

Climate Central analysis finds that human-caused global warming increased the maximum wind speeds of every Atlantic hurricane in 2024 by 3 to 14 mph. This intensification was driven by record-breaking sea surface temperatures, which were made up to 800 times more likely by climate change. The report specifically highlights that major hurricanes Helene and Milton were strengthened by 10 mph and 8 mph respectively, and that three hurricanes were pushed into higher Saffir-Simpson categories due to this warming.

• Human-caused global warming increased the maximum sustained wind speeds of all eleven Atlantic hurricanes in 2024 by between 3 and 14 mph, resulting in three hurricanes moving into a higher Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale category.
• The 2024 hurricane season featured record-breaking ocean warmth, with climate change making elevated sea surface temperatures in the paths of these hurricanes up to 800 times more likely.
• Among the four 'billion-dollar disaster storms' of 2024—Beryl, Debby, Helene, and Milton—climate change increased intensities by an average of 7 mph, with Helene increasing by 10 mph and Milton by 8 mph.
• A broader peer-reviewed study (Gilford et al., 2024) covering Atlantic hurricanes from 2019-2023 found that human-caused ocean warming increased peak wind speeds by approximately 18 mph on average, making storms one extra Saffir-Simpson category more intense on average.

APA

Gilford, D., Giguere, J., & Winkley, S. (2025). Climate change increased wind speeds for every 2024 Atlantic hurricane: Analysis. Climate Central. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1o55DB9DQ7ALXoTf1rB7v4/3e9d40d3e744761271d4fa6148815031/Climate_change_increased_wind_speeds_for_every_2024_Atlantic_hurricane__Analysis__July_2025_.pdf

Chicago

Gilford, Daniel, Joseph Giguere, and Shel Winkley. Climate change increased wind speeds for every 2024 Atlantic hurricane: Analysis. Climate Central, 2025. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1o55DB9DQ7ALXoTf1rB7v4/3e9d40d3e744761271d4fa6148815031/Climate_change_increased_wind_speeds_for_every_2024_Atlantic_hurricane__Analysis__July_2025_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gilford |first1=Daniel |last2=Giguere |first2=Joseph |last3=Winkley |first3=Shel |title=Climate change increased wind speeds for every 2024 Atlantic hurricane: Analysis |publisher=Climate Central |date=7 July 2025 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1o55DB9DQ7ALXoTf1rB7v4/3e9d40d3e744761271d4fa6148815031/Climate_change_increased_wind_speeds_for_every_2024_Atlantic_hurricane__Analysis__July_2025_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gilford2025climate, author = {Gilford, Daniel and Giguere, Joseph and Winkley, Shel}, title = {{Climate change increased wind speeds for every 2024 Atlantic hurricane: Analysis}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1o55DB9DQ7ALXoTf1rB7v4/3e9d40d3e744761271d4fa6148815031/Climate_change_increased_wind_speeds_for_every_2024_Atlantic_hurricane__Analysis__July_2025_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }