As your humble correspondent sits in his lower latitude abode in the Fort Lauderdale area awaiting the unwelcome arrival of Hurricane Matthew in a few hours, it comes as no great surprise that at least one major publication has affixed blame for that tropical storm upon, you guessed it, Global Warming. In this case the culprit is the Huffington Post which leaves no doubt that Hurricane Matthew is most likely the result "Climate Change" (which is what Global Warming became when the climate did not warm up).
Unfortunately for the Huffington Post and the author of the piece, Lydia O'Connor, alert readers pointed out the silliness of laying the blame for Matthew upon the favorite climate culprit of the Left. So with the wind steadily picking up just outside my computer room window, let us join Ms O'Connor with her doctrinaire claim that Hurricane Matthew’s Strength Is Yet Another Climate Change Indicator.
Hurricane Matthew, a record-shattering storm that is unusual for October, is a reminder of climate change’s potential to turn seasonal weather events into extreme, year-round threats.
Hmmm... So what month did the last major hurricane hit Florida before this year? Perhaps we should consult reader Anna Robey of Gainesville, Florida for the answer to this:
Wilma was a category 5 hurricane that hit us in Naples, FL as a strong category 3 storm on October 24, 2005.
Yup. And I also remember sitting through Wilma with my pal Captain Morgan and his friend, Miss Flora de Caña.
Matthew is the only hurricane of this strength to persist this many October days since 1963, noted Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach, an expert in Atlantic hurricane forecasts.
...If it makes landfall in Florida as expected, he also noted, it will be the first major hurricane to do so in October since 1950.
Except for the 2005 hurricane mentioned above that hit Florida much later in October.
But as climate change increases the temperature during months that aren’t typically warm enough to support storms as strong as Matthew, hurricane season is beginning to last longer.
How about no hurricanes to hit Florida from 2005 until this year? Was Global Warming also the cause of that lack of hurricanes? Let us take a look at what more skeptical Huffington Post readers have to say about blaming hurricanes upon Global Warming:
This is the kind of nonsense that makes so many people question climate change. The article says climate change is responsible for this strong a hurricane, this late in the season, yet goes on to say there was a similar hurricane in the 1960's which was caused by what?
Regardless of this one storm, hurricanes have been occurring with less frequency contrary to what the "experts" said would happen due to "climate change".
Repeat after me: Individual weather events neither prove nor disprove theories about climate change.
If there wasn't climate change we would still be back in ice age. Stop trying to manipulate with the climate change stories. There has and always will be climate change, period.
On a positive note, not all of the usual suspects pinned Global Warming upon Hurricane Matthew. One such is science writer John Schwartz of the New York Times who despite having "Climate Change" in his job title did not fall prey to temptation while answering Hurricane Matthew questions from readers in his column. For that he earns a Newsbusters Webelo badge for temporarily resisting the urge to give the obvious PC answer.
