20 million Americans urged to act as ‘apocalyptic hurricane’ Dorian rolls in

Hurricane Dorian, the second strongest Atlantic storm on record, has pounded the Bahamian islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama and is forecast to move dangerously close to Florida in coming days, US forecasters say.

Dorian, as seen from the International Space Station. 

Eyewitness News in the Bahamas reported late on Sunday (local time) that an eight-year-old boy had been killed in the Abaco Islands.

Ingird McIntosh told the news website her daughter had told her own two children were missing. The boy’s body was later found; it is thought he drowned.

There have been power outages across the islands as they have weathered Dorian, and communication lines are cut in and out.

Grand Bahama Island had earlier been warned to expect “catastrophic” storm surges up to seven metres above normal tide levels, with higher destructive waves, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said.

Read the story from The New Daily - “20 million Americans urged to act as ‘apocalyptic hurricane’ Dorian rolls in.”

What’s Another Way to Say ‘We’re F-cked’?

Hurricane Michael, the third most intense storm on record to make landfall in the U.S., has caused widespread destruction, turning places like Mexico Beach, Florida, into a hellscape of broken homes and overturned cars. It will be a while before we learn the full extent of the damage — and the human suffering and death — caused by the storm’s 155 mph winds and the 14-foot storm surge that swamped the coastline.

A boat sits amidst debris in the aftermath of
Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida.

Bad as the hurricane was, imagine the damage and destruction if that storm surge had been 15 feet or so higher. And if instead of receding, that wall of water never went away. That is what we could be facing in the not-so-distant future if we don’t dramatically cut fossil-fuel pollution.

Read the Rolling Stone story by Jeff Goodell - “What’s Another Way to Say ‘We’re F-cked’?”

‘Unimaginable devastation’: Biggest storm in a century slams into Florida

Florida has been hit by the first devastating effects of Hurricane Michael as the biggest storm to strike the region in a century made landfall Thursday morning (AEST).

The storm surge and waves from Hurricane Michael
batter the beachfront homes in the Florida Panhandle. 

The powerful Category 4 storm brought torrential rainfall, hurricane-force winds of up to 250 km/h and life-threatening water surges to the Florida Panhandle.

Florida Governor Rick Scott warned of “unimaginable devastation”, saying it would be the worst storm in 100 years.

Read the story from The New Daily - “‘Unimaginable devastation’: Biggest storm in a century slams into Florida.”

US weather: Record-shattering cold reaches as far south as Florida; parts of Niagara Falls freeze over

A record-shattering arctic cold in the United States has reached as far south as Florida, with freeze warnings in place from Texas to the Atlantic Coast and the north-east of the country facing another cold wave at the end of the week, forecasters said.

The brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls turns to
icicles as the area is hit with a cold blast.

Temperatures were from 11 to 17 degrees Celsius below normal across the US east of the Rocky Mountains, with only southern Florida untouched by the arctic blast.

"That degree of cold will be with us until tomorrow," National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Hurley said.

"Tuesday morning, we're looking at temperatures with very high probability of record lows."

Along Alabama's Gulf Coast, the temperature in the city of Mobile could hit a low of -9C overnight.

Read the ABC News story - “US weather: Record-shattering cold reaches as far south as Florida; parts of Niagara Falls freeze over.”

Florida’s Poop Nightmare Has Come True

In the days and hours before Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida, its residents were treated to copious media speculation about nightmare scenarios. This monster storm, journalists said, could bring a 15-foot storm surge, blow roofs off of buildings, and cause tens of billions of dollars in damage. But perhaps no scenario seemed more dire than the one Quartz warned about the day before Irma made landfall: “Hurricane Irma will likely cover South Florida with a film of poop.”

Quartz’ apparent hyperbole turned out to be an understatement. Pollution reports submitted to Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection show that, due to power outages and flooding caused by Irma, human waste has been spilling into streets, residences, and waterways across the entire state. At the time of this article’s publication, at least 113 “Public Notices of Pollution” had been submitted to the DEP. Combined, those discharge reports showed more than 28 million gallons of treated and untreated sewage released in 22 counties.The total amount is surely much more; at least 43 of those reports listed either an “unknown” or “ongoing” amount of waste released and new reports continue to roll in—sometimes as many as a dozen per hour.

Read the New Republic story by Emily Atkin - “Florida’s Poop Nightmare Has Come True.”

Hurricane Irma: Is it climate change?

Hurricane Irma has been lashing Florida this morning — bringing with it 200 kilometre winds and major flooding that has cut off parts of Miami's city centre.

More than six million Florida residents have been told to leave their homes in the biggest mass evacuation in US history — and at least two million residents are without power.

Before hitting Florida, the then Category Four storm cut a devastating path across the Caribbean and Cuba — killing at least 27 people.

And behind Irma, another hurricane is now barrelling across the Atlantic — raising the question — is this Hurricane season in the Northern Hemisphere more severe than previous ones?

And how much blame can be sheeted back to climate change?

Listen to the discussion on RN Breakfast - “Hurricane Irma: Is it climate change?”

Florida facing its 'most catastrophic' storm ever, as Irma arrives

Florida faces the “most catastrophic” storm in its history as Hurricane Irma prepares to unleash devastating force on the state, including 120mph winds, life-threatening sea surges that could submerge buildings and an advance battery of tornadoes.

A street in Villa Clara, Cuba Hurricane Irma hit. Irma approaches
 Florida where many areas are under mandatory evacuation orders. 

“You need to leave – not tonight, not in an hour, right now,” Governor Rick Scott commanded in a press conference, 12 hours before the cyclone was expected to make landfall on Sunday morning. “This is the most catastrophic storm the state has ever seen.”

The US national hurricane centre said in its 8pm Saturday update on Irma that “heavy squalls with embedded tornadoes” were already sweeping across south Florida. The US National Weather Service later said the first hurricane-force wind gust had been recorded in the Florida Keys, a low-lying island chain off the state’s southern coast.

Irma dropped to a category three hurricane but could regain its category four intensity as the bathtub-warm seawater of nearly 32C (90F) will enable the storm to build strength.

Read the story by Oliver Holmes on The Guardian - “Florida facing its 'most catastrophic' storm ever, as Irma arrives.”

Hurricane Irma: Eight dead on island of Saint Martin as monster storm barrels towards Florida

Hurricane Irma has killed at least eight people on the island of Saint Martin and injured 23 in French Caribbean island territories as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century barrels towards Florida.

The Saint Martin Airport has sustained
major damage from Hurricane Irma.

Fatalities have been reported on four different islands, with weather forecasters describing Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" category five storm, the highest US classification for hurricanes.

Authorities said at least one person also died in the north-east Caribbean island of Anguila, where 90 per cent of roads are impassable, and another person was killed in Barbuda.

The UK Government said Hurricane Irma inflicted "severe and in place critical" damage to Anguila.

Read the ABC News story - “Hurricane Irma: Eight dead on island of Saint Martin as monster storm barrels towards Florida.”

Florida’s Sea Level Rose 6x Faster Than Average And It's Not Due To Climate Change

If you're living along the coast of Florida you experienced sea level rising six times faster than the global average and this was NOT a result of climate change. The rapid sea level rise along the US east coast from Cape Hatteras to Miami is the result of a localized sea level rise hot spot.

A new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters and undertaken by the University of Florida analyzed tidal and climate data for the southeastern seaboard of the United States. They found that between the years 2011 and 2015 sea level rose more than six times faster in the southeast United States as compared to global average sea level rise.

What is the cause of accelerated yet localized sea level rise? The answer is not climate change, but naturally-occurring climate variations superimposed on the background steady sea level rise due to a warming planet. While you may have heard of the gradual rise in sea levels globally over the past century, there appear to be rapid climate processes that affect localized sea levels on the year(s) time scale.

Read the Forbes story Trevor Nace - “Florida’s Sea Level Rose 6x Faster Than Average And It's Not Due To Climate Change.”