Hurricane Patricia

Hurricane Patricia 2015 is the biggest hurricane we have ever had in the western hemisphere (i.e. in the Americas in either the Pacific or Atlantic). It started out at 325 km/hr (201.95 mph). Thankfully it has been weakening as it approaches land. Imagine the wind if you stuck your head out of a car window travelling that fast! What is making Patricia so huge?

• El Nino is a 2 to 7 year cycle in ocean currents. We are at the peak right now which warms the waters near Mexico. Hurricanes are fueled by warm ocean waters. Warm water heats the air which rises, cools and swirls. This would explain the biggest hurricane in 5 years, but not for all time.
• Global warming caused by CO₂ emissions have been relentlessly pushing the average temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans up every month since the start of the industrial revolution in 1760.

The bad news is:

• The CO₂ we have already released will hang around for at least 1000 years.
• We are continuing to release CO₂ at an ever increasing rate.
• Hurricane Patricia is not a fluke. It is the start of the age of ever-larger super-hurricanes.

~ Roedy (born:1948-02-04 age:68)