Ida
Tropical storm Ida was a typical Caribbean storm for August. It moved over Cuba, causing lots of rain and some damage, but nothing extraordinary. Then it moved onto the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a good reason why the Gulf beaches are popular with vacationers – the beaches are white and the water is warm. But warm water is a problem. The heat from the warm water serves as the “fuel” for storms, intensifying the amount of moisture in the air, and increasing the fury of the winds.
The “regular” tropical storm Ida turned into a Category Four Hurricane Ida, virtually destroying the power infrastructure of Southeastern Louisiana. Much of the region will be without power for weeks, maybe even longer. The major transmission lines, even into New Orleans, are shredded.
But Ida had more for the nation. After losing its “hurricane status” by the time it reached the Mississippi border, the weather system ended up dumping so much water on the Northeast, that the New York City subway system was flooded out. At least twelve died in Louisiana, though that number is likely to rise. But over fifty died in the Northeast, many drowning in their cars, unprepared for the inundation of inches of rain per hour.
In Louisiana it was different, it wasn’t the flooding, it was the wind damage. Total losses may reach the ultimate 2004 “Katrina” levels. And in the northeast, it was a “500 Year” storm. The problem: that’s a 500 year storm, nine years after another 500 year storm, Superstorm Sandy.
Worst Ever
Here in Central Ohio, Ida brushed by. There was a lot of rain, some flash flooding, but it wasn’t too bad. Not as bad, frankly, as the week before, when a “regular storm” stalled over the southeast corner of Franklin County. Here in “beautiful” Pataskala we got a couple of inches of rain in an hour: four miles to the west they got five inches in an hour. Cars were flooded in parking lots, roads closed to protect drivers, and a good friend who lives on a rise and never had water problems, lost a fully finished basement under inches of water.
We’ve always had storms, always had hurricanes, always had inundations. Why we walked through two feet of snow to school, uphill, both ways, when I was a kid. We can all remember “the blizzard of ‘77”, or the “tornadoes of ‘74”. But while we can all reach back in memory to “the worst ever” storm we endured, things really are getting worse. The “500 year storms” continue to occur regularly, and it’s not just playing “the odds”.
One answer is the Gulf of Mexico. It generates much of the Eastern United States summer weather, particularly the hurricanes, who gain their power over the Gulf. And the equation is simple: the hotter the Gulf, the more powerful the storms. And the Gulf of Mexico has grown increasingly hotter over the past decades.
One Part of the Problem
The Gulf is only one part of the rising temperature worldwide. And that creates the “storm equation”. More heat, more energy, means more “significant weather events”. It’s not necessarily the “worst ever”, but it’s more “worst” storms in succession.
That same dynamic creates the heat and dryness of the West, burning up in forest fires. That same dynamic is melting the Arctic ice, raising sea levels throughout the world. And it’s creating droughts in Central America, fueling migration to the North.
Science
This is not a “political” point, this is scientific reality. But, like the COVID vaccines and masks, this has become “political”. Somehow, one side has determined that trying to deal with global warming is “bad for the economy” and will hurt working people. As my mother would say, “They are robbing Peter to pay Paul”. It’s cheaper today to ignore the science, but the “payback” will be for future generations. By the way, they said that back when I was a kid in the early 1970’s: global warming will get worse, and the economic cost will grow. They were right, things are worse, and will get “worser”. We are paying the price already, and that price tag will continue to grow.
