Blowing Hot Air

USAtoday reports The number of hurricanes that develop each year has more than doubled over the past century, an increase tied to global warming, according to a study released Sunday.

Paul blogged OK, let's disembowel this study in as few words as possible. I must be getting old as it took 2 google searches to do it. But on the other hand I got a great graphic form Wikipedia on the number of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms.... The top shows what methodology we used to find hurricanes when. Hint: We didn't have weather satellites in 1900.... recorded storm intensity increases with better technology. We now try to measure pressures right at the eyewall while they are still over open water. We didn't even know to do that 30 years ago.... You'll also notice this graphic DOES NOT yet include the 2006 season which as I linked above was almost non-existent.

If you are going to use statistics to lie, it helps to be able to choose the statistics to quote.

That would bring the 10 year average (the bold line) back down. A simple look at the red line shows that we're barely back to 1950 levels.

Gaius blogged Despite the confident claims, consider for a moment: Until the mid 1940s, there were no reliably consistent way to track the majority of storms. Unless a ship sailed through the storms itself - and reported that to someone - there would be no records. You can look at the compiled hurricane data yourself and notice that hurricane reporting from the 19th and early 20th century very often show no activity out in the middle of the Atlantic. At all. Does anyone in their right mind believe that? Also, how many ships gathered temperature data through the 19th and 20th centuries?

IowaVoice blogged It’s just another attempt to scare the living hell out of everyone and make them buy into the “global warming” scam being pushed by the left, who think man is evil and only they, through socialism, can save us from ourselves.

Sister Toldja blogged First it was “global warming reduces hurricanes.” Now it’s “global warming causes hurricanes.” I wish these ‘experts’ would make up their minds. Oh, and so much for that ‘consensus’ we keep hearing about …

Curt blogged Of course this doesn't stop the USA Today folks from fawning over the Goreacles science. Garbage in....garbage out.