Conditions That Form More Hurricanes Also Protect U.S. Study Finds
Kossin
But at the same time  conditions near the coastal United States are the opposite: colder water  which provides less energy to a hurricane  and more wind shear  which tends to rip a storm apart. So although more hurricanes may form in the open ocean  as they approach land they are more likely to weaken. This protective barrier  as Dr. Kossin called it  does not exist in the Caribbean.
Dr. Kossinâs research found that in the most recent quieter period  from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s  hurricanes that did form were up to six times more likely to intensify rapidly near land  with wind speeds increasing more than 15 miles an hour over six hours.
Although it is difficult to single out any one factor in the evolution of a particular hurricane   Dr. Kossin  said that Hurricane Andrew  a Category 5 storm that devastated South Florida in 1992  was an example of a storm that intensified rapidly during the latest quiet period.
 Dr. Kossin  agreed that more research was needed  especially on how global warming might affect this protective buffer zone.
A lessening of the protective barrier during periods of greater activity would mean that even more damaging hurricanes could hit the Eastern United States. âThat would be a very unsettling prospect â  Dr. Kossin  said.
But at the same time  conditions near the coastal United States are the opposite: colder water  which provides less energy to a hurricane  and more wind shear  which tends to rip a storm apart. So although more hurricanes may form in the open ocean  as they approach land they are more likely to weaken. This protective barrier  as Dr. Kossin called it  does not exist in the Caribbean.
Dr. Kossinâs research found that in the most recent quieter period  from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s  hurricanes that did form were up to six times more likely to intensify rapidly near land  with wind speeds increasing more than 15 miles an hour over six hours.
Although it is difficult to single out any one factor in the evolution of  [TGT] said that Hurricane Andrew  a Category 5 storm that devastated South Florida in 1992  was an example of a storm that intensified rapidly during the latest quiet period.
  [TGT] agreed that more research was needed  especially on how global warming might affect this protective buffer zone.
A lessening of the protective barrier during periods of greater activity would mean that even more damaging hurricanes could hit the Eastern United States. âThat would be a very unsettling prospect â   [TGT] said.