As recent hurricanes have ravaged coastlines and dealt damage to major coastal cities, many people have begun to wonder whether the deadly storm activity is on an alarming rise.

“Hurricanes didn’t get a lot of attention in the U.S. until Hurricane Andrew in 1992,” said William Gallus, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences. “The early ’90s then saw an increase in not just the number, but also the coverage of hurricanes.”

Gallus believes the increasing number of the deadly storms is not due to any catastrophic phenomena, such as global warming.

“I don’t believe that global warming is affecting hurricanes and typhoons,” said Tsing-Chang Chen, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences. “The western Atlantic Ocean always has had warm waters that propel storms westward.”

Many meteorologists view the higher frequency of storms as just a normal phase in a cycle that meteorology experts are only just beginning to understand with the help of modern technology.

“It now appears that hurricane frequency may increase and decrease at regular intervals for decades at a time,” Gallus said. “The last few decades were very quiet as far as storm activity went, but the 1990s and 2000s seem to be the start of the heavy period again.”

Relatively new technology is one reason why meteorologists are now more able to recognize the cyclical behavior. Satellite technology, developed in the past few decades, has proven especially invaluable in hurricane research, monitoring and prediction.

Gallus also recognizes that human casualties and property damage have risen in recent years. However, he attributes this to the explosive growth of coastal communities in the past few decades rather than extreme climate changes.

“Hurricanes have only begun to be more damaging since there is more property to damage. The ’50s, ’60s and ’70s saw a building boom on the coasts since there were very few storms during that period – people seemed to forget how dangerous those areas were,” Gallus said.

1: Storm Clouds

Thunderstorms spiral around the upper portion of the hurricane.

2: Warm Air

Warmer air rises to the top of the storm, mixing with cooler air, spawning thunderstorms.

3. Eye Wall

This area contains the storm’s strongest winds.

4. Eye of the Storm

Cool air descends here to be warmed again by seawater.

The area inside the eye is relatively calm.