Tropical Storm Elsa became the earliest fifth named storm on record Thursday, the latest weather-related record this year that climate scientists warn is linked to climate change....
For the past seven years, named storms have arrived ahead of the official June 1 start of hurricane season, including this year with Tropical Storm Ana, which formed on May 23. In 2020, which tied 2016 as the hottest year recorded by humans, a record 30 named storms formed, including six major hurricanes.
Time to move up the official start of hurricane season?
... It has already been a year of unprecedented weather events. Two record-breaking and deadly heat waves in the Western U.S.; record rainfall in Michigan, which overwhelmed Detroit’s aging storm water system; a record-breaking winter storm in Texas, which disabled the state’s power grid; the historic drought gripping nearly the entire western part of the country; and an unusually early start to so-called wildfire season in California — all of these events have been linked to climate change....
“While wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, the fire season in California and across the West is starting earlier and ending later each year. Climate change is considered a key driver of this trend,” Cal Fire says on its website.
The trend line, according to a draft report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, obtained by Agence France-Presse, is that unless humans stop pumping greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere, these weather conditions will continue to worsen.
“Life on Earth can recover from a drastic climate shift by evolving into new species and creating new ecosystems,” the report says. “Humans cannot.”
Poor guy, first god gets him caught up in something clearly not his fault and now some mysterious saboteur(s) is out to make him look bad.
Antifa heard that a local bridge might be named for 45SHOLE, but got confused about which one.
They still haven't repaired the bridge. Claiming late March for a partial reopening.
Turns out that they knew about the storm that they claimed appeared suddenly out of nowhere. They sent the state a request 3 days prior to the storm to extend the completion date because of the impending hurricane.
Plus, they have found some pre-Civil War law that they are claiming exonerates them of liability.
And the judge agrees - although the company had plenty of warning, yet made no attempt to secure the more than 30 barges that caused damages to shut the bridge down completely for nearly a year, they aren't responsible for damages. The barges did it.
Damaging winds are often called “straight-line” winds to differentiate the damage they cause from tornado damage. Strong thunderstorm winds can come from a number of different processes. Most thunderstorm winds that cause damage at the ground are a result of outflow generated by a thunderstorm downdraft. Damaging winds are classified as those exceeding 50-60 mph.
Are damaging winds really a big deal?
Damage from severe thunderstorm winds account for half of all severe reports in the lower 48 states and is more common than damage from tornadoes. Wind speeds can reach up to 100 mph and can produce a damage path extending for hundreds of miles.
Who is at risk from damaging winds?
Since most thunderstorms produce some straight-line winds as a result of outflow generated by the thunderstorm downdraft, anyone living in thunderstorm-prone areas of the world is at risk for experiencing this hazard.
People living in mobile homes are especially at risk for injury and death. Even anchored mobile homes can be seriously damaged when winds gust over 80 mph.
Out here in the SF Bay Area winds over 60 are relatively rare. Hurricanes are non-existent. Once in a while there might be a report of a small tornado, but maybe once a decade. Instead we get to enjoy periods of long drought and perilous forest/brush fires.
It will likely change tracks as often as they publish tracks, buuuut as is predicted, the strong east side will come onshore at Apalachicola. We would be getting greatly diminished winds out of the north.
We'll see what happens. The season has barely started.
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
Meteorologists have named the sixth Atlantic storm of 2021, hinting at an above-average season ahead. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has bestowed the name Tropical Storm Fred on a low pressure system barrelling through the Caribbean. The sixth named storm of the year usually forms at the end of August.
In coming days, it could bring strong winds, heavy rain and high seas to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
...
How will climate change impact the hurricane season?
With warmer oceans you get more fuel for a tropical storm or hurricane to develop. In the UN's latest IPCC report - which details the latest thinking in climate science - it says of tropical cyclones: "It is likely that the frequency of rapid intensification in tropical cyclones has increased globally over the last 40 years."
The report goes on to conclude with "high confidence" that the proportion of intense tropical cyclones will increase on a global scale with increasing warming. In other words, the tropical cyclones that form are likely to become more intense, which if they hit land, will bring more impacts.
