Hurricane Coverage

As Hurricane Erin churns toward North America, the Weather Channel is providing non-stop coverage.  It is, after all, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 and there is nothing more marketable in their area of expertise.

In my opinion, the Weather Channel does a great job when it comes to educating the public about all forms of severe weather, including safety precautions, preparations and the forecast itself.  As one who has long been interested in the science of weather, I appreciate their knowledge and enthusiasm.

On the other hand, hurricanes seem to bring out their need to deliver updates every 15 minutes and, should the storm threaten coastal communities, to report from the scene, standing in the wind and rain while insisting that the public evacuate for their own safety.  A mixed message at best.

See:  Hurricane Stuntmen and Cantore Season 

Flashback Post LXIX

Yesterday's Magnitude 8.8 earthquake, off the coast of eastern Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, was the 6th most powerful quake ever recorded.  Geologically speaking, it occurred along a subduction zone, triggering a tsunami warning across the Pacific Ocean.  A post from April of 2009 explained this phenomenon.

See: Tsunamis and Subduction Zones 

On the Scottish Coast

Once again, the PGA Tour has taken viewers to an interesting geographic area.  This week, it is the Genesis Scottish Open, on the southern coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh.

Today's third round is being played under sunny skies and CBS peppers its coverage with views of the rocky coastline, the Firth of Forth and the Highlands beyond.  While I certainly enjoy watching the match itself, the chance to encounter new and scenic geography is a special feature of the Tour.

My wife and I were fortunate to visit Scotland in 2019 and explored most of the country, including Edinburgh.  But we did not get out to the peninsula where this week's match is being held and I appreciate the geographic perspective.  More than any other televised sport, golf takes us to landscapes across the globe. 

Tropical Storm Chantal

Having formed off the Georgia coast, Tropical Storm Chantal is expected to make landfall in South Carolina by tomorrow morning.  Since it is not a hurricane, it may not be taken as seriously as it should.

Heavy rain is expected to fall across coastal and near-inland areas of the Carolinas and coastal flooding from wind-driven waves and storm surge is forecast for North Carolina.  The risk of inland flooding may also extend into the Mid-Atlantic Region.

As we have seen with this weekend's tragic flooding in central Texas, it is increasingly difficult to predict regional rainfall.  Established models do not apply as our climate warms and those who minimize the potential effects of Chantal do so at their own risk. 

Trump abolishes Marine Sanctuary

With the stroke of his quill pen, King Trump has opened the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to commercial fishing.  As reported in the New York Times, the 490,000 square-mile preserve, which was established by the George W. Bush Administration and expanded by the Obama Administration, contains hundreds of atolls and seamounts that harbor rich coral beds, vital to the health of the regional marine ecosystem.  The Preserve lies 750 miles west of Hawaii.

Of course, Trump is focused solely on the economic benefits of mass-market fishing, not on the health of the marine environment.  As long as he remains in power, we can expect many more of these sudden and dramatic attacks on conservation programs and protected natural habitat.

Having destroyed our economy, our alliances and our civil rights, he is moving on to Nature herself.  That is a battle he cannot win.  

In Protest

Among his many first-week declarations, King Trump has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and Denali (the highest peak in Alaska and in North America) back to Mt. McKinley; this previous name honored President McKinley, from Ohio, who was assassinated and never visited the peak.

More than a petty use of his reclaimed power, these declarations demonstrate Trump's disdain for all non-white cultures as well as his ignorance of history.  Will New Mexico be next on his list?

In protest, I will continue to utilize the appropriate names for geographic features and regions, not the sanitized versions favored by our self-proclaimed King. 

Trees Native to Hawaii

Watching a PGA tournament from Oahu this afternoon, I began to wonder how many trees are native to that remote Pacific archipelago.  I thus consulted Common Forest Trees of Hawaii by Elbert L. Little and Roger G. Skolmen of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (available online).

Before reading the article, I assumed that few of Hawaii's trees are native to the islands due to their remote location and relatively young age (10 million years or so); I was wrong.  In fact, Hawaii leads all U.S. States in its number of native tree species.  At least 300 grace the islands, thought to have evolved from 78 unique species that arrived over the years; genetic testing suggests that 45 arrived from the West or Southwest (Indo-Pacific region), 16 from the South Pacific and 7 from North America.

The seeds are thought to have arrived on floating vegetation, via seabird droppings or on the winds of powerful hurricanes.  Of course, the lush vegetation of present-day Hawaii also includes a large number of trees introduced by early Polynesian settlers, by European explorers and by modern-day humans.  Of note, 18 of the many palm species found today are native to Hawaii.

Christmas on the Beach

One does not get a "White Christmas" here in South Florida (except for the white sand) but it sometimes feels like a Midwestern winter.  Cloudy, cool, breezy conditions greeted us on the beach this morning and sunbathers remained huddled in their cozy condos.

We did encounter a few other humans who braved the chilly conditions and came across small flocks of laughing gulls, temporarily grounded by the light fog and drizzle.  A lone dolphin swam past in the calm Gulf waters where a few terns and brown pelicans dove for their morning meal.

But we can't complain.  It's still a lovely spot to visit and, if the forecast holds, warm sunshine will return by tomorrow.  Happy Holidays to all! 

Hurricanes & Shorebirds

The recent Gulf of Mexico hurricanes that struck Florida (Helene and Milton) have significantly altered the beaches of Longboat Key and Anna Marie Island.  The beaches of these barrier islands are noticeably broader and flatter than they were in the past and much of their sand has been pushed onto or across the islands by the storm surge and strong winds.

Such findings were not unexpected when we returned to our condo but I have also noticed a dearth of shorebirds on these beaches. In the past three days I have only encountered modest-sized flocks of sanderlings and a few ruddy turnstones and black-bellied plovers.  While the number of other seabirds seem to be relatively unchanged, one wonders if the storms altered both the structure and ecology of the beaches, "sterilizing" them of food sources that normally attract the shorebirds.

While I have no scientific data to support this theory, there is little doubt that shallow marine and tidewater ecosystems are affected by these powerful storms.  Perhaps the dramatic decrease in shorebirds reflects less obvious changes in the beaches and coastal waters, the recovery of which may take many months. 

Supporting Denial & Risk

Last evening, a story on 60 Minutes (CBS) highlighted life on Smith Island in Chesapeake Bay.  The livelihood and property of the Island's residents are threatened by rising sea levels; the latter, of course, is a consequence of global warming.

The report indicated that Maryland has offered to buy the properties and have them demolished, allowing residents to move to higher ground on the mainland; apparently, there were no takers.  As a result, the State and Federal Government have initiated costly and, in the long run, futile efforts to mitigate the flooding.

Proud of their heritage, long-time residents of Smith Island certainly have the right to hold out as long as possible.  More questionable is the State's willingness to permit new construction by adventurous residents arriving from the mainland.  Island and coastal communities across the globe are threatened by climate change; do we admire their tenacity and support their high risk choices or do we limit public funding to resettlement assistance?  Denial, in the name of tradition, is not a helpful approach. 

Bomb Cyclone strikes Pacific Northwest

A "bomb cyclone," the meteorologic term for a rapidly intensifying low pressure system, is off the coast of British Columbia this morning, directing its counterclockwise winds across Northern California, Oregon and Washington.  Pulling in an "atmospheric river" of moisture from the Pacific, the storm is expected to stay offshore for the next few days, producing strong winds, flooding rains and deep mountain snow across the region.

Much like a tropical storm, its damage will relate to both its strength and its duration and, at this point, the jet stream will keep it in place.  While dousing wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest, the storm will surely unleash river flooding, landslides, avalanches and widespread power outages.

Global warming is not just a threat to southern latitudes.  The warmer seas and energized atmosphere will fuel destructive storms in northern regions as well.  This bomb cyclone is just the latest evidence of that fact. 

An Extensive Drought

As of this week, almost all areas west of the Appalachians, in addition to coastal areas of the Northeast, are experiencing some degree of drought.  While flooding from Hurricanes Helene and Milton has deservedly received a great deal of attention, the widespread drought is potentially even more devastating.

Many areas of the U.S. have received only a negligible amount of rain throughout October and above normal temperatures are forecast for the coming week.  Mountain snowpack is off to a slow start in the West and river levels are falling across the Heartland.  The risk of wildfire has increased significantly in most regions of the country.

Warm, sunny weather is appealing to most humans and we tend to focus more on storms than on drought.  In that regard, another tropical storm appears to be brewing in the Caribbean.  One hopes it might move northward and spread welcome rain across the Plains and the Midwest but it would have to cross the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico en route, likely spawning another destructive hurricane.  Slow-moving, Pacific cold fronts would offer a better and less damaging remedy for the drought but our changing climate seems to yield extremes at every turn.

Milton and the Front

Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, at Siesta Key, Florida, its outer bands had produced almost forty supercell tornados across southern portions of the State.  Indeed, damage from those storms might exceed that produced by the hurricane core itself.

As Milton reached the Gulf Coast, it was interacting with a front that dipped across Northern Florida, producing torrential rain on the north side of the hurricane (including the Tampa-St. Petersburg area).  The most intense winds of the eye-wall remained south of that Metro Area and the strongest storm surge hit the coastline south of Sarasota.

News of damage on Longboat Key may take a while to emerge but our primary risk may have come from surge off Sarasota Bay as well as the high winds of the eye-wall.  Overnight,  Hurricane Milton has moved northeastward along the front and across the Florida peninsula, unleashing heavy rain and destructive winds before heading into the Atlantic. 

In Milton's Path

We purchased our condo on Longboat Key, Florida, over 20 years ago; even then, the building was almost 40 years old.  When we made that leap, we understood that owning property on a barrier island carries a significant risk.  This week, it appears that risk has become a reality as Hurricane Milton, currently a Category 4 storm, barrels toward that narrow strip of sand.

A storm surge of 15 feet is currently predicted and our condo complex may end up in Sarasota Bay.  Though global warming was receiving limited attention back in the early 2000s, we now know that building on barrier islands is pure folly; even if the structure might withstand severe storms, access, utilities and nearby amenities may be lost for extended periods of time.  Indeed, there has been a general exodus from low lying coastal areas of Florida as both extreme weather and insurance rates increase dramatically.  Only the very wealthy are still buying property in these high risk zones.

Whatever level of damage is inflicted by Milton, we won't be visiting Longboat Key anytime soon.  Nature may just reclaim the site.

Appalachian Flooding

Following a long period of drought in the Appalachians of northern Georgia, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, the remnants of Hurricane Helene dropped 12-24 inches of rain on the region, leading to historic and catastrophic flooding.  Of course, the major impact has been along the primary streams and rivers of that mountainous terrain.

This alternating pattern of drought and flood is occurring across the globe as our climate warms.  While coastal damage from wind and storm surge is the immediate concern when hurricanes and typhoons come ashore, inland flooding, often far from that landfall, has become a significant complication.

As the remnants of Helene spin above the Ohio River Valley, another storm appears to be developing in the Caribbean.  Its future path is not yet known but its wrath will likely be felt well beyond the pristine beaches of the Gulf Coast.

 

Helene takes aim on Atlanta

As Hurricane Helene churns northward above the Gulf of Mexico hot tub, residents along the Florida Gulf Coast are taking action, boarding up homes and heading for higher ground.  While devastation along the coast is expected, more individuals will likely be impacted in cities farther inland.

Both Tallahassee and Atlanta are in the "cone of uncertainty" and Helene's forward movement is rapid.  As a result, she will not weaken quickly as she comes ashore with her high winds and abundant tropical moisture.  Both of these cities can expect wind damage and extensive flooding.

Worse yet, Atlanta will receive significant precipitation from a cold front that arrives prior to Helene.  At least ten inches of rain is expected to fall across that concrete jungle over the next few days.  Once again, our warming climate is having an impact on areas far from the shore. 

Francine tests NOLA's Pumps

As Hurricane Francine comes ashore, early this afternoon, her counterclockwise winds will pull copious amounts of rain in from the Gulf of Mexico.  New Orleans lies in the projected path of that firehose and, unlike other coastal cities of the U.S., it lies below sea level.

Following the disaster produced by Hurricane Katrina, the city invested in a system of water pumps that are designed to handle up to 1 inch of rainfall per hour.  Since Francine is currently "only" a Category 1 Hurricane, it is hoped that extensive flooding can be avoided; unfortunately, the soil of southern Louisiana is already saturated due to recent heavy rains, increasing the risk of flooding.  Fortunately, the pumps are on their own power grid and will not be affected by more widespread power outages.

Nevertheless, landfalling tropical storms and hurricanes have recently over-produced when it comes to flooding.  Warmer air and warmer sea water, the products of climate change, augment the humidity of the onshore flow and, should Francine slow down, the rainfall in NOLA could exceed the capacity of its pump network.  We should know by later in the day.  

The Erosive Force of Water

Beyond their stark beauty, the Faroe Islands demonstrate the erosive force of flowing water.  Since rifting from Greenland, 55 million years ago, this volcanic terrane has been molded by glacial ice, torrential rain, pounding waves, strong currents and numerous streams.  Due to their northern latitude, freeze-thaw cycles have also played a significant role in sculpting the islands.

Of course, most of this erosive activity persists today and is readily evident to the visitor.  Landslide scars are observed, frequent rain drenches the highlands, currents alter the course of boat transportation and powerful waves lash the rocky headlands.  Sheep and hares, both introduced by humans, are the only mammals that inhabit the steep, grass-covered slopes and countless waterfalls adorn the ridges.

This is a country of rock and water.  Though man has managed to settle along its coasts and fjords, water will eventually erode these scenic islands into the sea. 

In a Foreign Land

My wife and I are spending a few days in Copenhagen, Denmark, before heading up to the Faroe Islands, in the North Atlantic.  The site of established communities since the 11th Century, Copenhagen sits along a strait between the North and Baltic Seas.

Not a world traveler by nature, Denmark is only the fifth foreign country that I have visited over the course of my long tenure on this planet (not counting my many excursions into Canada).  While that fact might place me in the minority among jet-setting Americans, it is safe to say that most humans never leave their home country and I am certainly fortunate to have this opportunity.

Known for its harbor, bridges, canals, historic architecture and cultural amenities, Copenhagen is a vibrant city; cyclists dominate the urban center.  Yet, away from the historic buildings and tourist zones, it is like most cities, replete with industrial areas and modern construction.  More importantly, one notes that, despite our cultural differences, we humans have the same goals and concerns, especially related to our personal and family needs.  Too often, that fact is obscured by the trappings of tourism. 

Debby Floods the Southeast

After raking the Gulf Coast of the Florida Peninsula with strong winds, heavy rain and tornados, Hurricane Debby made landfall in the State's Big Bend area this morning, producing a storm surge of six feet or more.  Despite all of this havoc, the storm's wrath may increase as it stalls over southern Georgia and South Carolina, dropping up to two feet of rain as it pulls in moisture from the Atlantic.

Though not a powerful hurricane, Debby will deliver copious tropical moisture to the region, fed by the very warm ocean waters.  Since there is no approaching front to force the storm out to sea, extensive flooding is expected.

Once again, our warming climate is fueling the development of more tropical storms and augmenting their destructive effects.  Unless we take this problem seriously, the welfare of communities and ecosystems across the globe will be threatened.  Vote Democratic!