Hurricane Florence Is The New Normal Or Something

The U.S. had no major landfalling hurricanes from the 2006 season through to late in the 2017 season. There were very few landfalling hurricanes during that time period, as well, nor many tropical storms. But, now, of course, after a few hurricanes during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, something that typically happens, well, we’re back to the new normal thing, which was trotted out after the massive 2005 season, Superstorm Sandy in 2012 (which was not a hurricane at landfall), and now, here’s Excitable Eugene Robinson fear-mongering (yet forgetting to tell us that he’s given up his own use of fossil fuels and gone carbon neutral) and taking advantage of people who just went through a natural disaster

Climate change is real. Welcome to the new normal.

Hurricane Florence has drenched eastern North Carolina with more than 30 inches of rain, an all-time record for the state. Last year, Hurricane Harvey stalled over Houston and dumped more than 60 inches of rain, an all-time record for the whole country. Also last year, Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico and caused, according to an independent study, nearly 3,000 deaths.

Welcome to the new normal.

Tropical cyclones are nothing new, of course. But climate scientists saythat global warming should make such storms wetter, slower and more intense — which is exactly what seems to be happening. And if we fail to act, these kinds of devastating weather events will likely become even more frequent and more severe.

Which is exactly what they said right after the big 2005 season, and immediately saw these systems fade away for a decade. But, you know, this isn’t about science, reality, consistency, continuity, etc. It’s about in the moment scare-mongering.

Every human being on the planet has a stake in what governments do to limit and adapt to climate change, including leaders who, like President Trump, prefer to believe global warming is some kind of hoax. I doubt the citizens of Wilmington, N.C. — a lovely resort town that was turned into an island by widespread flooding from Florence — feel there is anything illusory about the hardship they’re going through.

Did they blame hurricanes during the Little Ice Age on mankind? Well, perhaps on illusionary witches.

Climate change is no longer theoretical. It is real, it is all around us, and it is going to get much worse.