Map showing tornado tracks during Hurricane Milton on 9 October 2024. The Miami office of the National Weather Service confirmed at least 5 tornadoes during Hurricane Milton’s approach. Graphic: NWS

Hurricane Milton’s terrible twisters: Outbreak in Florida killed at least 5, leveled buildings – Miami National Weather Service issued a record 55 tornado warnings, beating a previous record of 49 during Category 4 Hurricane Ian in 2022

By Alex Harris 10 October 2024 (Miami Herald) – A deadly and unprecedented wave of tornadoes swirled across Florida ahead of the arrival of Category 3 Hurricane Milton, which crossed the state from Sarasota to the Space Coast Wednesday evening. A series of twisters that struck St. Lucie County left at least five dead and, […]

Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on Thursday, 26 September 2024. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo

Our dystopian climate isn’t just about fires and floods. It’s about society fracturing.

By Bill McKibben 9 October 2024 (The Guardian) – Even as the good people of Florida’s west coast pulled the soggy mattresses from Helene out to the curb, Milton appeared on the horizon this week – a double blast of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico that’s a reminder that physics takes no time off, not even in the […]

Ocean Climate Shift Index (CSI) along the track of Helene, as it developed from disturbance to tropical storm to hurricane to major hurricane. Ocean CSI in surrounding regions are drawn from 24 September 2024, when the storm developed from a potential tropical cyclone to a tropical storm, coinciding with the highest Ocean CSI (in excess of 500) measured along its track. Graphic: Climate Central

Hurricane Helene was supercharged by ultra-warm water made up to 500 times more likely by global warming, study finds – “The heat that human activities are adding to the atmosphere and oceans is like steroids for hurricanes”

By Rachel Ramirez 9 October 2024 (CNN) – The exceptionally warm water of the Gulf of Mexico that supercharged deadly Helene last month was made up to 500 times more likely by human-caused climate change, which also ramped up the hurricane’s wind and rain, according to a new scientific analysis. Helene, which made landfall in Florida as […]

Satellite footage taken by NOAA’s GOES-East satellite on 8 October 2024 shows Hurricane Milton intensifying as it travels east toward Florida. Photo: NOAA

Hurricane Milton’s extreme rapid intensification is part of a climate-fueled trend – Among Category 4 and larger hurricanes since 2022, Milton reached Category 4 status the fastest – “This is nothing short of astronomical”

By Denise Chow 7 October 2024 (NBC News) – Hurricane Milton’s last 36 hours have been nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. The storm’s blisteringly fast evolution is part of a trend of rapidly intensifying storms fueled by climate change. The term “rapid intensification” […]

Nikki Wicker, co-owner of Roy's Restaurant, cleans after Hurricane Helene made landfall overnight, in Steinhatchee, Florida, 27 September 2024. Photo: Octavio Jones / REUTERS

Project 2025 proposes eliminating aid for families and businesses rebuilding after storms – Far-right road map would end vital disaster loan program

8 August 2024 (Center for American Progress) – In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Debby, the Southeast is tasked with the difficult work of rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives. Initial reports indicate at least six people have died from the storm. Federal agencies play a critical role in providing swift and efficient support to these families and […]

A drone view shows a flooded and damaged area following Hurricane Helene in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, 28 September 2024. Photo: Marco Bello / REUTERS

Climate “abandonment zones” are coming to the American South – Whole counties across Florida and Central Texas could begin to see their total populations decline

By Abrahm Lustgarten 2 October 2024 (The New York Times) – When Hurricane Helene, the 420-mile-wide, slow-spinning conveyor belt of wind and water drowned part of Florida’s coastline and then barged its path northward through North Carolina last week, it destroyed more than homes and bridges. It shook people’s faith in the safety of living […]

Stormwater flows into Biscayne Bay, 1 June 2024 - 18 June 2024. The flows from the Little River exceeded rates of 2000 cubic feet per second, causing very low salinity in the bay, resulting in large-scale fish kills. Graphic: Miami Waterkeeper

Record flooding yields massive fish kill in miles-long stretch of Biscayne Bay – “These events are anything but normal”

By Margaret Wong 23 July 2024 (The Cool Down) – Biscayne Bay is reeling from its fourth major fish kill in as many years, triggered by recent record flooding in South Florida.  What’s happening? Torrential rains have inundated the region, causing a significant influx of freshwater into the bay, which has led to low salinity […]

Florida governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks in Umatilla, Florida,Tuesday, 25 June 2024, during a visit to tout the state’s infrastructure grants program. In May 2024, DeSantis signed a bill that stripped the phrase “climate change” from much of Florida law, reversing 16 years of state policy and, critics said, undermining Florida’s support of renewable and clean energy. Photo: Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel

Florida censors references to climate science in textbooks for public schools – “How do you write an environmental science book to appease people who are opposed to climate change?”

By Leslie Postal 5 July 2024 (Orlando Sentinel) – Textbook authors were told last month that some references to “climate change” must be removed from science books before they could be accepted for use in Florida’s public schools, according to two of those authors. A high school biology book also had to add citations to […]

Flames consume a home on Bessie Lane as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, Tuesday, 2 July 2024. An extended heat wave blanketing Northern California resulted in red flag fire warnings and power shutoffs. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Photo

Insurance crisis that started in Florida and California is spreading – “Insurance companies are responding to the fact that we’re seeing more frequent and more severe climate events, and the fact that they’re paying out more than they’re bringing in”

By Scott Cohn 2 July 2024 (CNBC) – An insurance crisis that has sent premiums skyrocketing and caused carriers to flee coastal states like Florida and California is spreading, and it is fundamentally changing the real estate market in states across the country. “Not only is the cost higher than people anticipated, but just the inability to […]

People walk through waist-deep water in a flooded street as they evacuate on 12 June 2024, in Hollywood, Florida. On 12 June 2024, Gov. DeSantis signed the state budget after cutting almost $1 billion from the fiscal plan, including about $205 million in stormwater, wastewater, and sewer projects. Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Florida governor Ron DeSantis cuts stormwater flooding funding amid Florida deluge – “All those storm water projects he cut look pretty stupid right now”

By Jordan King 13 June 2024 (Newsweek) – Communities in Florida were hit with heavy rainfall and intense flooding on the same day Governor Ron DeSantis cut budgets for multiple water projects. On 12 June 2024, DeSantis signed the state budget after cutting almost $1 billion from the fiscal plan, the Tampa Bay Times reported—including about $205 […]

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