Hurricane Helene recently wreaked havoc on the Deep South and Appalachia, causing catastrophic flooding in a region rarely hit by such powerful hurricanes. This disaster was fueled by a confluence of factors including warm Gulf waters, La Niña conditions, pre-existing rainfall saturation, and the storm's interaction with the Appalachian mountains.
Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene slammed into the Deep South and parts of Appalachia , bringing devastating floods to a region often spared from strong hurricanes. A variety of factors combined to make Helene an especially dangerous storm. First, it formed over the Gulf of Mexico, where waters tend to be warmer than the Atlantic.
Finally, the Appalachian mountains themselves drove the storm upward to a higher altitude—which cooled the storm quickly. Colder air cannot hold as much water as warmer air, so the result was even more torrential precipitation in the mountainous western Carolina region. But because all this destruction is happening with only a few weeks to go before election day, national politicians are clearly focused most on how to use these disasters to benefit politically.
The false assumption that is heavily implied in articles like these and most rhetoric you’ll see from politicians acting concerned about the climate is that dangerous weather can and will go away if we only listen to the establishment-approved experts and fall in line. Fortunately, humans are very good at adapting to bad weather. And, while we have been for most of our history, we have become incredibly good at it in the last two hundred years thanks primarily to one thing—the economic growth that resulted from the Industrial Revolution.Economic growth is not just some metric for measuring business activity. It reflects the creation of the wealth that has allowed humans to not only survive but live comfortably in nearly every region on earth.
Hurricanes Flooding Weather Patterns Climate Change Appalachia
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Hurricane Helene could yield major flooding, tornadoes and 'devastating' winds, experts warnMonisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times.
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Hurricane Helene videos show devastating flooding and damage amid ongoing rescue efforts in FloridaCity officials shared clips of boats slammed into homes and a residence burning amid the floodwaters as they conducted water rescue operations.
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