Extreme weather expert Prof. Roger Pielke Jr. Calls B.S. on New York Times article – Pielke Jr. ‘BS–>NYT’: ‘The current global turbulence, consistent with what scientists expect to happen as the climate changes, is already taking a toll’
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Meteorologist Dr. Ryan Maue demolishes claims that Typhoon Haiyan was ‘strongest storm ever’ – Maue: ‘Fact: Haiyan is 58th Super Typhoon since 1950 to reach central pressure of 900 mb or lower from historical records’
For more data see: http://t.co/ukO0QTZjTv
… Deconstructing Super Typhoon Yolanda: ‘It seems reasonable to conclude that Yolanda was a Category 5 storm, i.e. that 1-minute wind speeds were at least 157 mph. However, it was clearly a much less powerful storm than Camille, and arguably many others in recent history’
…Was Haiyan the Strongest Storm Ever? No – ‘Haiyan ranks at number 7 among the strongest storms ever to have hit the Philippines’
…Most Intense Typhoons On The Decline: ‘The almost total absence of such intense storms in the last two decades is notable’
…Analysis: The Super Storm Meme: ‘Not only was Haiyan not the most intense storm ever seen, it’s not even in the running’
Storm intensity is measured by central pressure, the atmospheric pressure at the core of a cyclone. The lower the core preasure, the more intense the storm. Haiyan, at its peak, was measured at 895 hPa (hectopascals). In the North Atlantic, Hurricane Wilma, in 2005, was measured at 882. You have to go back to 1979’s Typhoon Tip, to find the most intense storm ever recorded in the Western North Pacific—it pulled 870 hPa and tops the list of all time most intense storms. In fact, when compared to that region’s list of most intense storms, Haiyan ties with a clutch of other storms—most recently Yuri in 1991—for an ignominious 21st place. Not only was Haiyan not the most intense storm ever seen, it’s not even in the running.…
Bjorn Lomborg: ‘Facts don’t support climate-change-caused-typhoon-Haiyan. Strong typhoons declining 1950-10.
In the paper’s conclusion:
“The analysis does not indicate significant long-period global or individual basin trends in the frequency or intensity of landfalling tropical cyclones of minor or major hurricane strength.”
When some people, like Jeffrey Sachs see a trend for hurricanes, it is because they look at the trend from 1981-2005 (conveniently from very low to very high).
See Roger Pielke’s excellent post here: http://