Click on the play button below to watch images of Hurricane Katrina, the most famous of storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, collected by the GOES satellites. Comprised of 28 named storms and 7 intense hurricanes, the 2005 hurricane season was one of the most active and severe on record. These storms swept through the Atlantic and Caribbean, leaving $141 billion dollars of damage in their wake. Three of the hurricanes in 2005 were category 5; storms of this intensity are only expected once every three years.

The unusual number and the severity of damage done by hurricanes in the 2005 season drew attention to the possibility that climate change might produce more severe weather. To what extent can extreme weather instances be attributed to climate change? How much is simply a part of normal climate variability? In this topic, we will explore how climate change and other factors influence extreme weather events.