A New Threat: Surprise Hurricanes

<p>Hurricane Otis, which killed more than two dozen people in southern Mexico this week, exemplified a phenomenon that meteorologists fear will become more and more common: a severe hurricane that arrives with little warning or time to prepare.</p><p>Judson Jones, who covers natural disasters for The Times, explains why Hurricane Otis packed such an unexpected punch.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/judson-jones?smid=pc-thedaily">Judson Jones</a>, who covers natural disasters and Earth’s changing climate for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>On Tuesday morning, few meteorologists were talking about Otis. By Wednesday morning, the “catastrophic storm” had left a trail of destruction in Mexico and drawn attention from around the globe.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/world/americas/hurricane-otis-mexico-intensity-surprise.html"> What happened?</a></li><li>The hurricane, one of the more powerful Category 5 storms to batter the region, created what one expert called<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/world/americas/hurricane-otis-mexico-impact.html"> a “nightmare scenario”</a> for a popular tourist coastline.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>