October 24, 2024

Fake hurricanes, denied aid: This election is about reality versus conspiracy theories


How sad.

How sad that someone at NOAA had to spend the time workshopping, writing, and approving a statement assuring the public that we can’t control the weather. How sad that the lie exists at all. How sad that people are so willing to believe that lie. How sad that people in the highest reaches of power are willing to fan the flames of that lie. 

But that's been our mantra for the past decade: How sad.

It's now or never

Conspiracy theories and outright lies that used to fester on the sidelines are now mainstream schools of thought among folks who are desperate to confirm their beliefs and suspicions. This kind of frightening detachment from reality has always been a nagging undertow running beneath society, but it’s gotten so much worse over the past decade.

It starts at the top. Tuesday, November 5, 2024, may be our last meaningful chance to reject this rot that’s eating away at the core reality that binds us together as a country.


Every election is pitched as “the most important of our lifetime.” But there have been precious few moments in American history when we’ve faced a crossroads over our shared sense of reality. It’s not just a question of what policies we want—it’s a question of whether we exist in the same universe or not.

If you think things are bad now, it's almost assuredly going to get worse if the nation’s foremost conspiracy theorist and unabashed liar is elected to sit behind the Resolute Desk again.

Endless lies

It’s not a partisan statement to call Donald Trump a conspiracy theorist and unabashed liar. He’s proven time and time again that he’s more than willing and handily able to create his own reality when the real world doesn’t suit his needs.

Let’s leave aside Trump's 34 felony convictions and attempted coup d’etat—and just stick to the weather.

The former president’s tenuous grip on reality is exemplified by his fraught relationship with the field of meteorology.

His very first lie upon entering office on January 20, 2017, involved the new president telling a group of supporters that it didn’t rain on his inauguration—even though video clearly showed it raining about one minute into his address. It's the avalanche of little lies that pave the way for the big lies.

Trump drew on a NHC forecast map to extend the cone to Alabama on Sept. 1, 2019

He mistakenly warned Alabama that Hurricane Dorian would be “much worse than anticipated,” then used a Sharpie to alter a National Hurricane Center forecast map rather than admit he was wrong. The fracas ended with the White House threatening to fire NOAA’s leadership if they didn’t participate in the ensuing coverup.

He proposed slashing more than $75,000,000 from the National Weather Service's budget in 2020, which would have fired 250 meteorologists, curtailed critical surface and upper-air weather observations, and ended a valuable research project to study tornadoes in the southeastern U.S.

He issued a controversial pardon while Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas because he “assumed ratings would be far higher” while people were already watching the news.

He delayed meaningful aid to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria by conditioning billions of dollars in disaster aid on political goals like prohibiting the island from raising the minimum wage, and implied that further aid to the island was contingent upon the territory's political leadership showing "appreciation" for him.

He opposed sending federal aid to California during the state’s deadly 2018 wildfire season because it’s a heavily Democratic state. He reportedly only agreed to send aid after finding out he won the counties affected by the wildfires.

He did the same exact thing with Washington state—only they didn't receive their disaster aid until Trump left office.

And those are just the lowlights of his four-year term.

Lies are a group effort

One of his biggest supporters in Congress—who once questioned if California’s wildfires were started by Jewish-controlled space lasers—accused an unnamed "they" of controlling the weather in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Milton on October 7, 2024

She certainly wasn’t alone herself in fanning the flames of that bizarre conspiracy theory. So many folks took to social media with cult-like fervor to accuse the government of controlling the weather to punish red states that meteorologists received death threats over the ordeal and NOAA had to dedicate time and resources to debunking the false claims.

Again…how sad.

A high-stakes outcome      

We know what happened before. But what are the consequences of a second Trump administration? Let's bypass everything else and keep sticking to the weather.

Project 2025, his potential administration's blueprint for a second term, calls for restoring Schedule F to remove protections from civil service employees. This change would make vast swaths of federal workers fireable by the White House.

Remember Sharpiegate? Under that proposed plan, he likely could've fired every meteorologist at NWS Birmingham for not playing along with his coverup. This could jeopardize any of the career scientists who work for NOAA if they unknowingly run afoul of the administration's will.

Trump would likely see his party in control of both chambers of Congress. This grip on power would afford him the opportunity to make those $75,000,000+ in cuts to the National Weather Service, following through on what he tried to do during his final year in office.

An emboldened Trump would come into office knowing he would face no real consequences for his actions. Firings, squashed investigations, denying aid, drawing on weather forecasts, interfering with research—everything is on the table when nobody is around to say 'stop.' 

And then there's the presidency as a role model for everyday Americans. He would again use the highest office in the land to trumpet lies and conspiracy theories about every topic under the sun, including the weather.

Bad hurricanes, lethal tornadoes, and devastating floods will happen during the next president's four years in office. He'd have his say in the messaging and response to those disasters—just as he did during Dorian, just as he did during the wildfires, and just as his entire orbit did during Helene and Milton.

If you think it's bad now how many lies and conspiracy theories everyday people are bouncing around on social media, wait until their most powerful enabler sits in the Oval Office again.

The real world is scary enough without making stuff up

Conspiracy theories are security blankets for adults frightened by a rapidly changing and interconnected world in which bad things sometimes happen. It's scary and upsetting that tornadoes and hurricanes and wildfires can wipe away entire communities in moments.

It’s more comforting to believe that bad things happen because bad people are making them happen. If bad things aren’t random—if bad things are controlled by bad people—then we might have a chance to stop those tornadoes from forming, to stop that hurricane from hitting land, and to keep those wildfires from charring everything we’ve known and loved.

Unfortunately, a growing percentage of the American public has fallen so detached from reality that they’re unwilling or completely unable to believe that the real world doesn’t work that way. They’re more eager to believe that their perceived enemies control hurricanes than they are to accept basic elementary school meteorology.

There is one presidential candidate willing and eager to allow that alternate universe to flourish, to shred the reality that binds our society together in order to get what he wants.

This is too important. Please don't let him succeed.

[Image of the White House courtesy of Unsplash.]


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October 21, 2024

New York City may soon set the record for its longest dry streak in 155 years


New York City has one of the longest sets of detailed weather records in the United States. An observation station has been continually active in Central Park since 1869, just four years after the end of the Civil War. 

That historical depth makes any all-time records a noteworthy occurrence in New York City, and we could be nearing one of those milestones in the next week or two. The city may soon set a record for its longest dry streak ever observed.


Despite two major hurricanes making landfall in the southeast, it's been an exceptionally dry few months over most of the United States. The latest update of the U.S. Drought Monitor tells the tale: 77 percent of the U.S. is abnormally dry or mired in some level of drought, including a large portion of the Mid-Atlantic states.

We haven't seen measurable precipitation at New York's Central Park since September 29th.


Every day since then has been dry as a bone—and the forecast doesn't have much hope for measurable rain in the next five to seven days. 

This is quickly turning into one of the city's driest spells on record. The period from September 29 through October 21 made for 22 days without a drop of rain falling in the gauge. The ongoing dry spell will rapidly start ticking up this chart as the arid days wear on.

If current forecasts hold, we're likely going to secure the #2 spot before Halloween. Toppling the all-time record of 36 consecutive dry days is a tall order.

Why so long without rain? Persistent ridges of high pressure building over the Northeast have deflected rainmaking systems to the north and south, preventing precipitation from ever reaching New York City. This familiar pattern will likely continue for at least the next seven days. 

[Satellite: NOAA]


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October 8, 2024

Dangerous, historic Hurricane Milton will grow before hitting Florida


Hurricane Milton continues to grow in size as it heads toward landfall on Florida's west coast during the latter half of the day on Wednesday.

The storm explosively intensified into a scale-topping Category 5 storm on Monday, becoming the fifth-most intense storm ever measured in the Atlantic basin in terms of minimum central air pressure.


A reconnaissance flight into the storm on Monday evening found that its pressure had dropped to 897 mb shortly before 8:00 p.m. EDT, which is lower than every Atlantic hurricane ever observed except for just four others.

The storm has since undergone an eyewall replacement cycle, a process through which a newer, larger eye forms and replaces the old one. Hurricanes tend to both weaken and grow in size during an eyewall replacement cycle. 


A favorable environment and very warm waters have allowed Milton to restrengthen a bit on Tuesday. Forecasters found that the storm had maximum winds of 155 mph on Tuesday afternoon.

Milton is expected to grow in size before slamming into Florida's west-central coast as a major hurricane on Wednesday evening.


Despite the storm's maximum winds decreasing slightly before landfall, this will remain a large and powerful storm and its destructive storm surge is essentially baked in at this point.

A wide swath of the Florida peninsula is under a hurricane warning, including Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach, and Fort Myers. Damaging winds will spread far inland as Milton makes landfall. Long-lasting power outages are likely, especially in areas that experience the eyewall.


While damaging winds, flooding rains, and a risk for tornadoes will extend far away from the center of the storm and affect most of Florida, the precise track of the eye will make all the difference where the very worst storm surge occurs.

A track over or just north of Tampa Bay would expose the region to a storm surge not seen in living memory. A track just south would push the worst surge toward Charlotte Harbor and the Caloosahatchee River. It's a matter of a few miles in either direction.

Please heed evacuation orders if you're told to go. Time is running out. 


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October 7, 2024

Milton, a now-historic Category 5 hurricane, poses grave danger to Florida


Hurricane Milton explosively intensified into a scale-topping Category 5 storm during the day on Monday, strengthening at a rate only seen a handful of times since modern technology made real-time hurricane tracking possible.

Milton will threaten Florida as a major hurricane on Wednesday, posing a grave risk for destructive winds, a life-threatening storm surge, flooding rains, and the potential for tornadoes over much of the state.

Near-Historic Intensification

It's hard to convey the severity and magnitude of what Hurricane Milton has managed to accomplish in such a short period of time.


The storm's winds intensified from 90 mph to 175 mph over the course of 12 hours between 1:00 a.m. CDT and 1:00 p.m. CDT on Monday. Hurricane Milton's minimum central pressure plummeted from 975 mb to 911 mb over the same time period—a rate of explosive intensification rivaled only by a few storms in modern history, including Wilma back in 2005.

Milton is now one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, which is no small feat given that we're in October. Milton is the strongest storm we've ever seen in the Gulf of Mexico this late in the year, according to hurricane expert Philip Klotzbach

Multiple factors contributed to the storm's near-unprecedented strengthening session. Sea surface temperatures across the Gulf of Mexico are extremely warm, running 88°F or warmer throughout much of the region where Milton is currently tracking.


The storm has a very small core. Hurricane force winds only extend 30 miles from the center of the storm. Think of a figure skater pulling her arms in to spin faster—small hurricanes can efficiently translate their deep minimum air pressure into ferocious winds.

A subtropical jet stream north of Hurricane Milton is likely aiding the storm's robust intensification. Hurricanes lift a massive amount of air into the upper atmosphere. That cooler air needs to vent out and away from the storm in order for it to thrive. These strong winds north of Milton are likely helping to exhaust some of that air away from the core of the hurricane.


While the storm is likely near its peak strength today, it's worth noting that "weakening" is a relative term when it comes to a major hurricane aiming for land. This is likely to remain a very intense and dangerous hurricane as it approaches landfall in Florida over the next 48 hours.

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center puts Milton's intense core into the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday evening as a major hurricane with 125 mph winds. Small changes in the storm's intensity and track are likely as the storm gets closer to land. A few miles to the north or the south will make all the difference for the storm surge that gets shoved into Tampa Bay.

Storm Surge and Destructive Winds

Widespread wind damage will accompany the hurricane ashore and spread across the Florida Peninsula. Communities near the point of landfall will likely experience a period of sustained winds in excess of 100 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds are likely across Florida along the track of the storm.

Structural damage, downed trees, and long-lasting power outages are expected near the point of landfall, inland toward the Orlando metro area, and even toward Florida's eastern seaboard. 

A life-threatening storm surge is all but assured given Hurricane Milton's current intensity and the fact that forecasters expect the storm to grow in size as it approaches Florida.


Florida's western coast is extremely vulnerable to storm surge. Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, and the Caloosahatchee River will amplify any surge that arrives in the region, posing a significant threat to neighborhoods within a few dozen feet of sea level.

The latest guidance from the National Hurricane Center calls for a potential storm surge of 10-15 feet above ground level across much of west-central Florida's coast if the storm surge coincides with high tide. This includes Tampa and St. Petersburg. 6-10 feet of surge possible farther south toward Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and other seaside communities throughout the region. 

Storm surge is seawater pushed inland by a hurricane's strong and intense winds. This much surge is unsurvivable; it's more than enough to completely submerge and likely wash away well-built structures.

This has the potential to be the worst storm surge ever observed in this region. We haven't had a major hurricane hit Tampa Bay since 1921. For context, Hurricane Charley pushed an estimated 6-7 foot storm surge into Sanibel Island back in August 2004.

Flooding Rains


Heavy rain is ongoing across Florida as a surge of tropical moisture ahead of Milton interacts with a stationary front parked across the state. This setup has already produced several inches of rain across much of Florida since the beginning of the weekend.

Additional rainfall totals of 4-8 inches are expected through the end of the week as Milton hammers the state through Thursday. The heaviest amounts are likely along and to the north of Milton's track.

Nearly half of all deaths in landfalling hurricanes are the result of flooding rains. Never try to drive across a flooded roadway. It's impossible to tell how deep the water is until it's too late, and the road may have washed away beneath the water.

Tornado Risk


Tornadoes are a risk in any landfalling tropical system. The risk for tornadoes will grow throughout southern and central Florida as Hurricane Milton's rainbands begin sweeping over the state on Tuesday and when the storm makes landfall on Wednesday.

Stay alert for tornado warnings and have a plan to act quickly if a warning is issued for your area. Tropical tornadoes happen quickly and with reduced tornado warning lead time.



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October 6, 2024

Milton to hit Florida as a major hurricane on Wednesday


Here we go again. Hurricane Milton is quickly gathering strength over the Gulf of Mexico as it heads east toward Florida over the next few days.

Milton's strange track will take it east over the length of the warm Gulf of Mexico. Favorable conditions will help the storm take advantage of that warm water and force periods of rapid intensification over the next 48 hours. 

The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by Monday, possibly peaking Tuesday as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds as it picks up speed toward Florida's western coast.


Forecasters expect that Hurricane Milton will make landfall somewhere on Florida's west-central coast as a major hurricane during the day Wednesday. The precise landfall location is still up in the air a few days out, but this will be a large and growing storm with wide-reaching impacts by the time it makes landfall.

A life-threatening storm surge is likely along the coast, mainly south of the point of landfall. Depending on where Milton makes landfall, this could lead to devastating coastal flooding for some areas. Anyone around Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, or the Caloosahatchee River should heed evacuation orders if and when they're issued.


Widespread flash flooding is possible throughout Florida as heavy rain pounds the state over the next few days even before Milton arrives. 5-8+ inches of rain will fall across Florida through the end of the week, with the highest totals expected in southern Florida and through the center of the state along Milton's expected track.

Remember, never try to drive across a flooded roadway. It's impossible to tell how deep the water is until it's too late, and the road may not be there anymore beneath the waters. It only takes a few inches of moving water to lift up a vehicle and carry it away.

It's been a long time since the Tampa Bay area has faced a direct threat like this. While many storms have grazed the region in the past few decades, the last hurricane to strike Tampa Bay directly was back in 1946


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