Stay Curious

SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AND UNLOCK ONE MORE ARTICLE FOR FREE.

Sign Up

VIEW OUR Privacy Policy


Discover Magazine Logo

WANT MORE? KEEP READING FOR AS LOW AS $1.99!

Subscribe

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

FIND MY SUBSCRIPTION
Advertisement

Will AI Help Design Hurricane-Proof Buildings?

Researchers paired a century of real-life storm data with artificial intelligence. The result could improve hurricane-proof building designs.

ByMarisa Sloan
Credit: Andrey VP/Shutterstock

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Hurricane season — from June through November in the Atlantic — is right around the corner. And while we won’t know the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) official predictions for another few weeks, that hasn’t stopped other long-range forecasters from staking their claims.

In Colorado State University’s 2023 forecast are six hurricanes and two major hurricanes (meaning Category 3 or greater). Researchers at North Carolina State University tend to agree with that: They predict six to eight hurricanes and two to three major hurricanes.

In the face of these storms, buildings on the East and Gulf Coasts are built to withstand life-threatening wind speeds ranging from 74 to more than 157 miles per hour. Or, at least, that’s the goal.

Last year, says the National Centers for Environmental Information, more than a dozen separate climate disasters exceeded $1 billion worth of damage in the U.S. — each. The total ...

  • Marisa Sloan

    Marisa is an assistant editor at Discover. She received her master’s degree in health, environment & science reporting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In a previous life, while earning a chemistry degree from UNC Greensboro, Marisa worked to prolong the therapeutic power of antitumor agents. Ask her about enzymes!

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

0 Free Articles