Thank Gaia, a hurricane
Scientific American can barely conceal its relief that disaster looms, emailing that “Weeks of eerie quiet in the Atlantic Ocean basin are over.
Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to hit Louisiana as a hurricane tomorrow.” In the upside-down world of climate alarmism, a lack of devastating storms is “eerie” rather than, oh, say, pleasant.
In the story to which they linked they positively exulted in the damage to come: “Forecasters are warning of a life-threatening storm surge and up to a foot of rain in some spots.” Yay! Life-threatening storm surge. Finally. Where have you been all summer?
Mind you “Tropical Storm” is a bit of a letdown though a relieved editor’s note explained that:
“Francine became a hurricane at 8 P.M. EDT on September 10. Forecasts currently still call for the storm to strengthen but to remain just shy of Category 2 status.”
As in the weakest kind of windstorm that gets called a hurricane. (Ultimately it staggered over the line to a Category 2 but only just.) And not a moment too soon. See, climate change is causing a surge in hurricanes even if it’s not:
“Forecasters aren’t sure what has kept a lid on storm formation, especially given that ocean waters – the fuel for hurricanes – have been exceptionally warm.
It could be some combination of Saharan dust that is blowing off the western coast of Africa – and keeping the atmosphere too dry for moisture-loving tropical systems – and a shift in a wind pattern over the continent that is leading to fewer of the atmospheric disturbances that often act as hurricane seeds. Whatever caused the lull, it’s over for now.”
Not to seem picky. But the essence of science is to test theories against evidence. So if the theory is that warm ocean waters are “the fuel for hurricanes” and you don’t get a bunch of them, something’s wrong with the theory.
As Thomas Kuhn wrote in his pathbreaking The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, it is true that a theory can be patched up at least for a while with adjustments and tweaks, like that one about Saharan dust that nobody mentioned in the heady spring days of predicting a record Atlantic hurricane season thanks to warmer ocean waters.
But at some point the scientists-aren’t-sure-but-it-must-be-something angle starts to feel contrived. Especially if your evidence that the lull is semi-over consists of one disappointingly weak storm, even if Francine did then huff and puff and briefly reach Category Two, surprising forecasters with more settled science.
Disappointing? Not to us. We don’t live in Louisiana but we would be very happy if those who do were not hit by any hurricanes. However the alarmists need this disaster or they’ll have some explaining to do.
See more here Climate Discussion
Please Donate Below To Support Our Ongoing Work To Defend The Scientific Method
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATI ONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Trackback from your site.