 Harvard geologist Daniel P. Schrag calls Hurricane Sandy's 13-foot storm surge an example of what will, by mid-century, be the "new norm on the Eastern seaboard".According to National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) senior climatologist Kevin E. Trenberth, "The answer to the oft-asked question of whether an event is caused by climate change is that it is the wrong question.All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be."