The first hurricane this season and the Trump administration’s new era of weather tightening has been the closest passes to the United States this week.
On Friday morning, weaker than a few days ago, it was still a big storm, heading north and affecting coastal flood threats on the U.S. East Coast.
But at its peak earlier this week, Hurricane Irene was one of the strongest and largest hurricanes ever.
Worryingly, Hurricane Irene has also intensified Almost the fastest speed I’ve seen it in the Atlantic Basin last weekend, from tropical storms to category 5 within about 24 hours. There are only a few hurricanes in history Like Erin, it has joined a storm so quickly.
Erin’s rapid reinforcement underscores the dangers of hurricane seasons in the age of climate crisis, Reduction of FEMA and National weather service with understaffed.
Although the impact of Hurricane Irene is limited to some heavy rains in Puerto Rico and huge waves on the East Coast, many first responders who encounter storms Florida Think of it as a warning sign.
“My initial thought was: Thank Jesus, this is not coming to Florida,” said Heter Henderson-Scheu, director of emergency management in Sovani County, Florida, about 80 miles east of Tallahassee.
“This is becoming a new reality,” Henderson-Scheu said. “It’s really worrying because even if we’re inland it won’t give you much time to prepare.”
In 2023, Hurricane Idalia grew from Class 1 to Class 4 in less than 24 hours, becoming the strongest storm that has affected the Great Bend of Florida for more than 70 years. In less than two years, hurricanes made landfall in Florida, including Idalia. All four of them tracked the vicinity of Suwannee County or crossing, home to more than 50,000 people and the center of the state’s poultry industry, which has suffered a lot since Helene’s landing last year.
“We got calls about Erin all weekend,” Henderson-Scheu said. “After going through it, people really want to stop staying in their houses.”
Rapid strengthening before login – defined as wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in less than 24 hours – Yes Five times now More than the trends in the 1980s Scientists recently attributed to global warming.
The water that strengthens occurs is the warmth of the record, which is at least 100 times more likely to be due to climate change. According to the analysis of the Climate Center. These record warm waters may have increased peak wind speeds of about 9 mph, enough to raise it from Category 4 to Category 5.
Scientists’ ability to predict conditions that lead to rapid reinforcement Great improvement has been made over the past decade or sopartly because these conditions now occur more frequently. Since its inception in 1851, 42 hurricanes in the Atlantic have reached five categories on the Atlantic, with 11 of which occurred in the past decade.
Erin’s intensification rate was not captured in advance by the National Hurricane Center It also does not use any computer model it uses. First responders told The Guardian that they do not need perfect predictions to take appropriate action in advance.
“This situation just requires understanding that our expected impacts may change soon,” said Megan Milanese, director of emergency affairs management in Lake County, Florida, west of Orlando. “So what we usually have to do is plan for the worst and hope for a better situation, and if the worst happens, we are ready.”
Emergency plans under this uncertainty are not a new struggle for emergency managers. During Hurricane Ian in 2022the initial forecasts suggest that the storm will track parallel to the west coast of Florida, meaning that the expected path of the storm has changed slightly, causing a large change in the expected landing location of the storm.
“We all want this small change in the grand Earth plan,” said Lane Schneider, director of emergency management in Hardy County, Florida, east of Sarasota. “A lot of the time, where it goes in the state doesn’t matter because we’re also used to storms and prepare for it anyway.”
The impact of the hurricane has helped Henderson-Scheu and her team hone their county’s hurricane program in recent years, so much so that it will now only take a few hours to coordinate resources with the governor’s office and the county’s school system, open shelters, and begin the evacuation process.
“What we have to do in the community is change the mindset here,” Henderson-Scheu said. “It’s about now.” when It happens here because it happens here, and because of the temperature of the ocean it will continue to happen here. So we are really pushing for preparation. ”
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
