Editing Gulf Coast of the United States (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Aerial views of the Houston, Texas, skyline in 2014 LCCN2014632225.jpg|thumb|[[Houston]] is the largest city and urban area along the Gulf Coast.]]

The Gulf Coast is made of many [[inlets]], [[bays]], and [[lagoons]]. The coast is intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the [[Mississippi River]]. Much of the land along the Gulf Coast is, or was, [[marsh]]land.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-01-08|title=Gulf Coast Wetlands Rapidly Declining • The National Wildlife Federation Blog|url=https://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/gulf-coast-wetlands-rapidly-declining/|access-date=2021-03-04|website=The National Wildlife Federation Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> Ringing the Gulf Coast is the [[Gulf Coastal Plain]], which reaches from [[Southern Texas]] to the western [[Florida panhandle]], while the western portions of the Gulf Coast are made up of many [[barrier island]]s and [[peninsula]]s, including the {{convert|130|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Padre Island]] along the Texas coast. These landforms protect numerous [[bay]]s and [[inlet]]s providing as a barrier to oncoming waves. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland. The eastern part of the Gulf Coast, predominantly Florida, is dotted with many bays and inlets.

===Climate===
[[File:ISS Expedition 25 Night Time Image Of The US Northern Gulf Coast.jpg|thumb|Night time astronaut image of the northern Gulf coast]]
The Gulf Coast climate is humid subtropical, although [[Southwest Florida]] features a tropical climate. Much of the year is warm to hot along the Gulf Coast, while the three winter months bring periods of cool (or rarely, cold) weather mixed with mild temperatures. The area is highly vulnerable to [[tropical cyclone|hurricanes]] as well as [[flood]]s and severe [[thunderstorm]]s. Much of the Gulf Coast has a summer precipitation maximum, with July or August commonly the wettest month due to the combination of frequent summer thunderstorms produced by relentless heat and humidity, and tropical weather systems, including tropical depressions, tropical storms, and [[hurricanes]], while winter and early spring rainfall also can be heavy.

This pattern is evident in southern cites as [[Houston]]; [[New Orleans]]; [[Mobile, Alabama]]; and [[Pensacola, Florida]]. However, the central and southern [[Florida]] peninsula and [[South Texas]] has a pronounced winter dry season, as at [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] and [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]]. On the central and southern Texas coast, winter, early spring and mid-summer are markedly drier, and September is the wettest month on average at [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]] and [[Brownsville, Texas]]. [[Tornado]]es are infrequent at the coast but do occur; however, they occur more frequently in inland portions of Gulf Coast states. Over most of the Gulf Coast from [[Houston]], Texas, eastward, extreme rainfall events are a significant threat, commonly from tropical weather systems, which can bring 4 to 10 or more inches of rain in a single day. In August 2017, [[Hurricane Harvey]] made landfall along the central Texas coast, then migrated to and stalled over the greater [[Houston]] area for several days, producing extreme, unprecedented rainfall totals of over 40&nbsp;inches (1,000&nbsp;mm) in many areas, unleashing widespread flooding. Climate scientists predict more hurricanes for Florida<ref>See "Projected change in U.S. hurricane risk based on Risk Analysis Framework for Tropical Cyclones (RAFT)." Fig. 1 ''op cit''</ref> and the Texas coastline in particular.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.adf0259 | doi=10.1126/sciadv.adf0259 | title=Increased U.S. Coastal hurricane risk under climate change | date=2023 | last1=Balaguru | first1=Karthik | last2=Xu | first2=Wenwei | last3=Chang | first3=Chuan-Chieh | last4=Leung | first4=L. Ruby | last5=Judi | first5=David R. | last6=Hagos | first6=Samson M. | last7=Wehner | first7=Michael F. | last8=Kossin | first8=James P. | last9=Ting | first9=Mingfang | journal=Science Advances | volume=9 | issue=14 | pmid=37027466 | bibcode=2023SciA....9F.259B }}</ref> [[Earthquakes]] are extremely rare to the area, but a [[2006 Gulf of Mexico earthquake|6.0 earthquake]] in the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, 2006, could be felt from the cities of New Orleans to Tampa.

===Rising sea levels===
Due to the release of greenhouse gas emissions, glaciers and ice sheets are melting and expanding the oceans. The United States coastlines are projected to rise 1 foot in three decades or between 10 and 12 inches on average by 2050.<ref name="ToriCBS">{{cite news|date=2022-02-19|url=
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sea-level-rise-2050-study/|title=Sea levels along U.S. coastlines to rise more than a foot by 2050, study projects|last=B. Powell |first=Tori|work=CBS News|accessdate=2023-08-30}}</ref> The Gulf Coast will likely see the biggest change, with sea levels expected to rise between 14 and 18 inches. The Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Report predicted more frequent, major and destructive high tide flooding events along with taller storm surges by 2050 after scientists determined high tide flooding has been "increasingly common" over the past few years due to the rising sea levels.<ref name=ToriCBS /> The impacts are expected to be dramatic. Low-lying coastal areas are expected to experience multiple factors, including increased levels of flooding, accelerated erosion, loss of wetlands and low-lying terrestrial ecosystems, and seawater intrusion into freshwater sources. Rising sea level and erosion will also imperil critical habitats for many commercially important fisheries that depend on inshore waters for either permanent residence or nursery area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/predicting-impacts-sea-level-rise-gulf-mexico/|title=Predicting Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the Northern Gulf of Mexico|work=coastalscience.noaa.gov|accessdate=2023-08-30}}</ref> In 2021 alone rising sea levels cost the United States approximately $2.6 billion in relief efforts and caused at least seven deaths.<ref name=ToriCBS /> By 2051, the cost of flood damage is expected to increase by 61%, or $32 billion.<ref>{{cite news|url=
https://abcnews.go.com/US/climate-change-rising-sea-levels-increase-cost-flood/story?id=76044769|title=Climate change, rising sea levels to increase cost of flood damage by $34 billion in coming decades: Report
|work=ABC News|date=2021-02-22|last=Jacobo|first=Julia|accessdate=2023-08-30}}</ref>