- In September/October 2024, Florida experienced two hurricanes 13 days apart.
Helene made landfall as a category 4 storm. The path of the storm went north causing
massive damage, mostly from rain, as far north as North Carolina and Virginia.
Milton attacked Florida as a category 3 storm. It's path was west to east impacting mostly Florida.
- Predictably, Climate Alarmists pounced claiming
"Climate change fueled the fury of hurricanes Helene and Milton".
This article from the AP
claims Milton, which had reached Cat 5 while in the gulf but weakened to Cat 3
before striking FL, would have landed as a Cat 2 storm if not for climate change.
OK, if you say so, but the obvious question is, how do you know?
- The table at the bottom of this page contains the data used for the next several bullets.
- There have been 30 hurricanes to hit Florida over the past 100 years.
Fourteen from the first 50 years (1924 to 1974), sixteen from the most recent 50 years (1975 to 2024). An increase of 2 over a 50 year period is a 4% increase. I see it as a virtual tie.
- Some observations:
- 2004 saw four hurricanes hit Florida (Climate Change!)
- but zero hurricanes for
- 8 years 1936-1943
- 9 years 1951-1959
- 8 years 1967-1974
- 9 years 1976-1984
- 8 years 1996-2003
- 11 years 2006-2016
(Climate Change not so much).
Mother Nature is quite fickle and does as she pleases, including slamming two hurricanes in two weeks into Florida, or avoiding Florida for a decade. This is the reality of random weather events.
- Here's how the hurricanes that hit Florida over the past 100 years break out:
Intensity Quantity percent 3 14 47 4 13 43 5 3 10
- Whether Climate Change is making hurricanes more intense is a matter of debate
and includes how one defines "intensity." What can be measured is their frequency, and
CNN reports
hurricanes are becoming less frequent, contradicting past sooth-saying that Climate Change
would cause hurricanes to appear more frequently.
- Another objective meausre of insensity is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Adding these intensities of the first 15 hurricanes over the past 100 years = 55.
Adding these intensities of the last 15 hurricanes over the past 100 years = 54.
An intensity decrease of one over a 50-year period is a 2% decrease. Again, a virtual tie,
suggesting hurricanes are not becoming more intense over time.
Also, if hurricanes are becoming "more instense," why hasn't the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
been updated to include a Category 6?
- I always feel obligated to provide the disclaimer that just because there of those of us
who do not buy into Climate Alarmism does not mean we should not be environmentally responsible.
We should.
What bothers me is that there are those who use tragedy as an opportunity to advance a political/social agenda. As Obama's Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanual once said (12 seconds): "You never want a serious crisis go to waste."
- Two nasty hurricanes attacking Florida in two weeks no more proves anything about Climate Change
than pointing out an 11-year hurricane drought disproves anything about Climate Change. Both assertions are illogical
and cannot be proved.
- These two hurricanes have not convinced me the sky is falling. Is Climate Change affecting
the frequency and intensity of hurricanes? You decide.
