I’m still shaken by the break-in at my home on Wednesday, but I know I can’t stay silent or step back. I was attacked for speaking out, and if I let that violent intrusion dictate my voice, they win. I refuse to let fear shape how I report on global events—especially now, as extreme weather continues to threaten lives around the world.
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Hurricane Season Updates
Reminder: The measure of a hurricane season’s intensity is not the number of landfalling hurricanes, but rather the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) and number and strength of named systems, regardless of whether they hit land.
Hurricane Humberto may not be making landfall in the United States, but that doesn’t mean we should discount the raw power of this storm.
With sustained winds of 145 mph and gusts up to 175 mph, Category 4 Hurricane Humberto is expected to continue strengthening over the next few days, possibly reaching Category 5 wind speeds.
The storm’s organization and structure can be seen below:
The tropical depression currently over Cuba is also expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Imelda as it scrapes the eastern shore of Florida over the weekend. Current projections show soon-to-be-named Imelda reaching Category 1 strength by Tuesday.
We’ve already surpassed the average number of major hurricanes for this point in the Atlantic hurricane season. The season officially runs June 1 through November 30, but by the end of September we usually see fewer major hurricanes than we’ve had so far. So far we’ve had three major hurricanes — Erin, Gabrielle, and Humberto — all Category 4 or stronger. Thankfully, none of them came ashore.
The Pacific has been even busier. Four major hurricanes already — when NOAA’s pre-season outlook back in May projected only two to five for the entire year. Like the Atlantic, the eastern Pacific season stretches into late November, which means we’re not even close to the finish line yet.
It’s part of a broader trend. Over the past decade, both basins have seen seasons run hotter, longer, and more intense, with rapid intensification events that used to be rare becoming almost expected. In 2017, the Atlantic delivered Irma, Maria, and Harvey in quick succession. In 2020, we blew through the entire hurricane name list and deep into the Greek alphabet. In the Pacific, 2015’s record-setting El Niño juiced storms into back-to-back Category 5s.
When NOAA sets “averages,” they’re based on the 30-year climatology (1991-2020). But the climate itself is shifting under our feet. Warmer oceans are the fuel. A longer window of vulnerability is the result. And the statistics we thought were “normal” are already outdated.
Climate Policy Alerts
So far this month, the Trump administration has issued nine orders and/or rules rolling back environmental regulations. Those rollbacks hit the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, the DOE, and the Interior Department.
Humberto is showing off one impressive center of circulation. Lesser hurricanes are envious.