Hurricane expert says warming not a factor

ORLANDO, Fla., April 4 (UPI) -- A leading U.S. hurricane researcher said the increase in hurricane activity has very little to do with global warming.

Speaking at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., Chris Landsea -- the National Hurricane Center's science officer -- said global warming might actually be slightly reducing hurricane activity in the Atlantic.

The Miami Herald said the hurricane research community is divided over the issue of hurricanes and global warming.

One group contends hurricanes have been forming twice as often as they did a century ago, mostly because of global warming. The other group, whose leaders include Landsea, says the theory is based on faulty data because many storms out in the ocean went undetected before hurricane hunter flights began in the 1940s, the newspaper said.