Explores the search for Hurricane scientists “holy grail” seeking to understand the dangerous increases in storm power called rapid intensification. As the story develops we explore what hurricanes are, how they are formed and how the specialists try to predict whether the next storm will blow over or blow the roof off. Featuring interviews with some of the world’s leading hurricane experts, this episode looks at the latest theories and the most advanced technologies that are being used to hone the forecasts. While a fearless team of Hurricane Hunter pilots flies into the eye of each approaching storm, their data is supplemented by information from satellites, drones and even fish!
While humans try to predict the future, the natural world has evolved over millions of years to deal with the strongest storms on earth as and when they arrive. Some run; others hide. This episode looks at varying strategies used by plants and animals that live in the hurricane zone and how they cope with the annual onslaught. From robust crocodiles, to fragile flamingos and delicate tropical shrimp; many species have found ingenious ways of dealing with the threat of hurricanes. The film reveals that hurricanes can by turn be both beneficial and harmful to individuals but, ultimately, at the level of populations, the deadly power of these storms provides new opportunities for life.
For millennia, hurricanes have threatened the Eastern USA, the Caribbean and parts of Latin America. But changes to global climate have serious consequences for the future: rising sea-levels mean that storm surge from hurricanes will impact ever further inland. Specialists believe that hurricanes will become less frequent but increasingly powerful. Nobody knows when a major Category 5 hurricane will strike next, so the desire to live ever closer to the beach puts more and more people on a collision course with the greatest storm on earth. With coastal habitats and natural defences such as coral reefs, irretrievably damaged, the future appears bleak. Insight and interviews from leading experts such as Nobel Prize-winning climatologist, Jean-Pascal Van Ypersele, help the film explore whether we are prepared for the super storm of the 22nd Century.
