Things could have been far worse. Last year, Mitch slammed into Central America, killing 10,000 unprepared people. It turns out it is harder to predict hurricanes than it is to send astronauts to the moon. There are far more variables involved in the circulation of the Earth's atmosphere than in a moon shot. What we do know about hurricanes suggests that Floyd, Mitch and Andrew could be harbingers of more to come.
Hurricanes get their power from the energy contained in warm, moist air over tropical oceans.
The world is getting warmer and wetter. Global temperatures have increased by about one degree over the last century, and the warming has accelerated during the last two decades. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1980. Last year was probably the hottest this millennium. Warming increases evaporation, intensifying both droughts and floods.