Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Was Harvey a result of Climate Change?


On my Facebook weather page, I've been fielding a few questions  from some of you....on Harvey and Climate Change. Y'all have seen the media and others taking about how Harvey was caused by climate change.  The talk is that human caused global warming has lead to weaker prevailing winds, along with the jet stream tracking farther north. Whoever the media is talking to is saying, that these are the changes that caused Harvey to drift around and stall over southeast Texas, leading to the catastrophic flooding we've see in Texas. These people are also saying, In all of U.S. history there has never been a hurricane like Harvey.

My answer to this is baloney.            

I've talked about the gobbledygook that two sides in the climate debate are using, and how they use it to twist the science and fact one way or the other.  Both sides are using junk science.   Many times, I've stated my problems with a lot of the manmade climate change agenda.    I'm not saying that human activities don't contribute to climate change. But I believe cyclical patterns and natural variations have played a much bigger role than human activities. But I won't go down the path of stating my objections to human caused global warming, in the current climate debate, I've said that all before.

As for climate change causing Harvey to act the way he did. There is nothing to support that idea.

We've seen hurricanes bigger than Harvey, we've seen typical cyclones loop and meander around  many times in past years, we've seen tropical cyclones drop enormous amounts of rain before, As in everything to do with weather, it has all happened before. If none of these other times weren't caused by human caused climate change. Then why is Harvey a result of climate change?

.  A couple of years back we had Hurricane Patricia, her winds were 200- 225 mph before weakening before landfall.  It has been Sixty-one years since the first and only Hurricane Hunter plane crash in the Atlantic Basin, brought down by a tropical system it was investigating. That tropical system was Hurricane Janet in Sept of 1955. We had the Great Galveston Hurricane, the Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, The Great New England Hurricane/Long Island Express in 1938, the Great Miami Hurricane in 1926, I can go on and on.

 

 


Both of the above came from Weatherbell.
 
 
The Galveston Hurricane in1900 was the deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States and caused between 8000 and 12000 deaths. The same people who say Sandy was a freak storm caused by climate change, seem to forget all about the September 15, 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane. Just as they forget: Hurricane Camille in August of 1969, Hurricane Hugo in September 1989, Hurricane Audrey in 1957,  Hurricane Andrew in1992, Hurricane Flora in 1963. Hurricane Flora dropped 100.4 inches of rain when it meandered over Cuba. Hurricane Ginny of October 1963
 

 

 
 
 
 I can post many other images of hurricanes meandering and doing strange things.
 
Still not far enough in the past....well we had: Colonial Hurricane of 1635, The Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769, The Great Coastal Hurricane of 1785, there are dozens of others.

I've talked about the great East Coast Hurricanes of the 1950's and 60's, with names of Hazel, Connie, Diane, and Donna. So I ask again if none of these were caused by global warming and climate change then why is Harvey?