BDN interviews Birkel about whether climate change affects storm frequency

The Bangor Daily News interviewed Sean Birkel, a research assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, about whether the changing climate has caused an increase in storm frequency in Maine, as warming oceans are imbuing the atmosphere with more moisture. Birkel said while climate change could be the culprit, the question is not easy to answer, in part because varying characteristics make determining what constitutes a storm difficult to classify over long periods of time. There has been an emerging pattern of more extreme weather events in the past decade or so in North America, but Birkel says whether they are part of a long-term trend in Maine is unclear. “There needs to be more research done,” he said.