Originally posted by: MoPHo
global warming had zero effect on it. 1979 saw the worst typhoon ever in history. that was 26 years ago. it made katrina look like a cloud fart.
Yup, it's 1979's Super Typhoon Tip.Originally posted by: MoPHo
global warming had zero effect on it. 1979 saw the worst typhoon ever in history. that was 26 years ago. it made katrina look like a cloud fart. sh!t happens and so do natural disasters. its just another message that nature isn't under our control.
Originally posted by: gooseman
Your second question about the Mississippi River levee system is off. If I'm correct, the levees that broke are on Lake Ponchatrain.
Originally posted by: MillionaireNextDoor
You could change the "Should we raze New Orleans in order to raise the hight of the city above current levee hights?" poll to: "What should we do about New Orleans?" with options like: rebuilding as is but raise the levees, raise the entire city, move the city to higher ground, build it like venice, etc.
Originally posted by: MoPHo
global warming had zero effect on it. 1979 saw the worst typhoon ever in history. that was 26 years ago. it made katrina look like a cloud fart. sh!t happens and so do natural disasters. its just another message that nature isn't under our control.
and IIRC category 5 hurricane levees have to rise 25+ feet above sea level. since new orleans is something like -15 feet, they would've had to raise the levees a ridiculous amount...might be wrong on that one but if im right, new orleans was screwed no matter what they did.
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
Originally posted by: MoPHo
global warming had zero effect on it. 1979 saw the worst typhoon ever in history. that was 26 years ago. it made katrina look like a cloud fart. sh!t happens and so do natural disasters. its just another message that nature isn't under our control.
and IIRC category 5 hurricane levees have to rise 25+ feet above sea level. since new orleans is something like -15 feet, they would've had to raise the levees a ridiculous amount...might be wrong on that one but if im right, new orleans was screwed no matter what they did.
haven't been reading National Geographic, have you? you realize they predicted this one year ago and just recently had an article that basically said florida can expect to get pounded from now on?
like any disaster, big ones are going to occur eventually no matter what the world's conditions are, but does the fact that the south has been pummeled over and over again in the last few years escape you? remember El Nino? were you paying attention when heat records were being destroyed this summer?
it's like if California was actively breaking off into the ocean before our eyes, but with only a bunch of mag 6-7 quakes, one after the other, and you were like "well, none of these are as big as San Francisco's big one 100 years ago, so clearly California is not sliding into the ocean." get a grip, man.
Q: Why have so many hurricanes hit land this year?
A: The quick answer is just bad luck. A more complete answer, is that the unusual run of hurricane good luck the USA had been enjoying since 1995 ended in 2004.
Back in 2000 when I was working with Dr. Bob Sheets on our book, which was published in 2001, Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth, I talked with William Gray of Colorado State University. Gray is best known to the public for his forecasts of what each hurricane season should bring. This is just one aspect of his work. He was among the first, if not the first, scientist, to see and study links between global climate patterns and hurricanes. (Related story: Top expert: No more major hurricanes)
He was one of the first scientists to study the cycles that Atlantic Basin hurricanes run in. During some decades-long periods, such as from the 1940s into the mid-1960s, many more hurricanes, especially strong hurricanes, form than during other decades, such as from the late 1960s until 1995.
What he told me In late 2000 is included in Chapter 11 of our book. In brief, Gray noted that since a cycle of more hurricanes began in 1995, fewer major ? Category 3, 4, and 5 ? hurricanes had hit the USA that you would expect based on the past. He pointed out that from 1900 through 2000, we know of 221 major hurricanes over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Of these about one-third hit the USA.
From 1995 to 2,000 only three of the 23 major hurricanes that formed hit the USA: Opal in 1995, Fran in 1996 and Bret in 1999. Based on the past, the odds would be that six or seven would have hit during these years. Now, three more have hit, all this year and all in Florida: Charley, Frances, and Jeanne.
If you look at the odds, based on history, even with this year's three major hurricanes hitting, the USA is still running behind the long-term odds.
All of these hurricanes are no surprise to those who keep up, even casually, with what's known and being learned about hurricanes.
Originally posted by: MoPHo
global warming had zero effect on it. 1979 saw the worst typhoon ever in history. that was 26 years ago. it made katrina look like a cloud fart. sh!t happens and so do natural disasters. its just another message that nature isn't under our control.
and IIRC category 5 hurricane levees have to rise 25+ feet above sea level. since new orleans is something like -15 feet, they would've had to raise the levees a ridiculous amount...might be wrong on that one but if im right, new orleans was screwed no matter what they did.
Originally posted by: plaidfro
A big hurricane is a big hurricane... If you choose to live under sea level, best of luck to you. Its easy to make choices, but its tough to live with the negative consequences of our choices now isn't it?
Originally posted by: mchammer
Can you make the poll so that you only have to hit vote once, and it sends in all of the answers? I gave up.