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Rita Roars In


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map_spectrop07_ltst_6nh_enus_600x405.jpg

 

caribsat_600x405.jpg

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/di...hes/050811.html

 

......

Krulwich: But, wait. Didn't I read somewhere that global warming does not cause an increased number of hurricanes?

 

Lehrer: I was just about to say if you'd let me. Yes, you're right. Global warming doesn't cause a greater number of hurricanes, according to a paper published in Nature last week. Global warming does seem to have caused worse hurricanes.

 

Krulwich: Worse as in "badder?"

 

Lehrer: Exactly. Bigger, deadlier hurricanes with stronger winds and more rain.

 

Krulwich: Why?

 

Lehrer: Because warmer oceans produce more intense hurricanes.

 

Krulwich: But are the oceans getting warmer?

 

Lehrer: Yes, 'cause—

 

Krulwich: —cause I'm just wondering: The Earth is getting warmer, that's an indisputable fact, which is causing glaciers to melt, another indisputable fact. Now, wouldn't all those melting glaciers actually cool the ocean down? The way I imagine it, it would be like putting an ice cube in a glass of water.

 

Lehrer: You're forgetting one thing. The oceans of the Earth are enormous. Glaciers are big, but they can't be expected to cool all that saltwater. To modify your metaphor, it's actually like putting an ice cube in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

 

Krulwich: So perhaps my metaphor was a bit off. But I still don't understand how global warming leads to deadlier hurricanes. Spell it out for me.

 

Lehrer: It's actually a two-stage process. Warmer air, which is caused by global warming, leads directly to warmer surface temperatures in the ocean. And when the surface temperatures of the ocean get warmer, hurricanes get worse. More water evaporates, and the swirling storms contain more energy.

 

Krulwich: Now that you mention it, the ocean is more swimmable this year. It's actually lovely.

 

Lehrer: That may be, but for those living in hurricane-prone regions, the warmer temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean in general and the Caribbean basin in particular come as bad, bad news. For example, this year marked the first time on record that the Atlantic spawned four named storms by early July. This year also saw the earliest category 4 storm ever.

 

Krulwich: But come on. We're talking about the weather here. A butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo and we get a hurricane in Florida. Weather is chaos. My local TV stations can't even predict when a thunderstorm is going to arrive, or whether tomorrow will be 85 or 90 degrees. So how can a single measurement—like ocean temperature—predict the strength of hurricanes?

 

Lehrer: Not all scientists think it can. In fact, some scientists don't even think hurricanes are getting deadlier. The most active hurricane season on record is still 1933, which was back when we thought the world was getting colder. The conventional model of hurricanes doesn't see global warming having an impact on hurricane strength or density until the 2050s.

 

Krulwich: So why is this scientist—what's his name by the way?

 

Lehrer: His name is Kerry Emanuel, of MIT.

 

Krulwich: Why is he convinced things are getting nastier?

 

Lehrer: Well, rather than just rely on mathematical predictions of the future, which when it comes to the weather are notoriously unreliable, Emanuel has gone back to the past. He has collected data on storms from as far back as the 1850s. And while some scientists dispute his statistical methods, his general conclusion is that storm power has increased by 50 percent since the 1970s.

 

Krulwich: Fifty percent!

 

Lehrer: Yup.

 

Krulwich: What does that mean? Fifty percent stronger winds? Fifty percent more rain? Fifty percent what?

 

Lehrer: According to Dr. Emanuel, roughly half the increase he observed in his hurricane statistics is because storms have been lasting longer, and half because their peak wind speeds have been increasing. So to answer your question, storms are just getting 50 percent worse, in every way. This could be the first tangible consequence for the American public of global warming.

 

Krulwich: You sure know how to spoil a late summer evening.

 

 

 

GOOD LUCK TEXAS!!

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We're gonna get rocked... like a.... like a... HURRICANE.

******

 

Seriously though.

 

Houston, we have a problem.

 

WERE FUCKED.

 

I guess, were supposed to be going to San Antone this weekend. At first it was something to kid about in school but now shits getting serious.

 

I kinda wanna stay, am I stupid for saying that?

 

One thing though, is that I know the sherwin williams shops will be vacant.

 

Shit crazy right now, I've been saying this for like the past 3 fuckin weeks.

 

 

*dude, enough with the embed. For those of us checking 12oz at work, it sucks.

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Originally posted by fatalist@Sep 21 2005, 04:46 PM

THANKS Dhabz! but its taking 12hours just to reach huntsville. i'll holla if i ever make it

 

huntsville? i got folks out there? well i guess that's not as bad as logon. damn. i should be studying.

said to people in path of hurricane: shouldn't you be headed somewhere?

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Guest imported_El Mamerro
Originally posted by gren1 bnc@Sep 21 2005, 04:59 PM

why straight to "rita"? i thought that tornado names went in alphabetical order, alternating between boys and girls names.....someone help out here please. surely it should be either a boys name beggining with K or L. HELP!

 

 

2005 Hurricane and Tropical Storm Names

 

 

Arlene

Bret

Cindy

Dennis

Emily

Franklin

Gert

Harvey

Irene

Jose

Katrina

Lee

Maria

Nate

Ophelia

Philippe

Rita

Stan

Tammy

Vince

Wilma

 

 

 

These are given as soon as a tropical storm is formed. Most don't even reach land and therefore are pretty much ignored by the news. But yeah, all the letters between K and R have passed already.

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