NOVA 45x7 - Rise of the Superstorms

In just one devastating month, Houston, Florida, and theCaribbean were changed forever. In summer 2017, three monsterhurricanes swept in from the Atlantic one after another,shattering storm records and killing hundreds of people.First, Harvey brought catastrophic rain and flooding toHouston, causing 5 billion in damage. Less than two weekslater, Irma lashed the Caribbean with 185 mile per hourwinds—and left the island of Barbuda uninhabitable. Hot onIrma's heels, Maria intensified from a Category 1 to aCategory 5 hurricane in just 15 hours, then ravaged PuertoRico and left millions of people without power. As the planetwarms, are these superstorms the new normal? How well can wepredict them? And as the U.S. faces the next hurricane season,does it need to prepare for the reality of climate refugees?NOVA takes you inside the 2017 superstorms and the cutting-edgeresearch that will determine how well equipped we are to dealwith hurricanes in the future.