Hurricane Harvey August 2017

The analysis concludes that while Hurricane Harvey was an extremely rare event, global warming increased the intensity of its precipitation by approximately 15% and made such an event about three times more likely. Observational data and climate models indicate a trend of increasing extreme precipitation along the US Gulf Coast, often exceeding the standard Clausius-Clapeyron scaling. The study emphasizes that while the storm's rarity makes it difficult to attribute its existence to climate change, the increased rainfall intensity contributed significantly to the flooding in Houston, which was further exacerbated by urban development and subsidence.

• Hurricane Harvey produced an extremely rare precipitation event; the highest observed three-day amount of 1043.4 mm at Baytown has a return period exceeding 9000 years in the current climate.
• Anthropogenic global warming is estimated to have increased the intensity of the precipitation during Hurricane Harvey by approximately 15% (with a range of 8% to 19%), or equivalently, made the event 1.5 to 5 times more likely.
• There is no clear scientific evidence to suggest that the existence of Hurricane Harvey itself was made more likely by global warming, as there is low confidence in region-specific projections for the frequency of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin.
• Beyond rainfall, other anthropogenic factors increased flood risk in Houston, including urban development (leading to floodplain encroachment and increased impervious cover), resource withdrawal causing subsidence of up to 3 meters, and the operation of emergency flood control structures like the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
• Future projections suggest that if the world continues to rely primarily on fossil fuels and warms another four degrees, the intensity of extreme rainfall events on the Gulf Coast could increase by about 50%, making such events roughly 10 times more probable.

APA

World Weather Attribution (2017). Hurricane Harvey August 2017. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/hurricane-harvey-august-2017/

Chicago

World Weather Attribution. Hurricane Harvey August 2017. 2017. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/hurricane-harvey-august-2017/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Weather Attribution |title=Hurricane Harvey August 2017 |date=31 August 2017 |url=https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/hurricane-harvey-august-2017/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldweatherattribution2017hurricane, author = {{World Weather Attribution}}, title = {{Hurricane Harvey August 2017}}, institution = {World Weather Attribution}, year = {2017}, month = aug, url = {https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/hurricane-harvey-august-2017/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }