A weak wind

Two weeks ago we cited Roger Pielke Jr. that hurricane season was off to a quiet start. How quiet? There had been no tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere at all by May 30 and, he added, if there weren’t any by June 5 it would be the quietest start since 1970. And at the risk of seeming cynical we accused alarmists of a double standard with regard to windy seasons or even just predictions of one being proof of climate change, and calm seasons being unworthy of mention. So guess what? No tropical cyclones by June 5 brought this June 11 headline in the Washington Post: “Hurricane season is off to a fast start – at least in the Pacific Ocean”. Have they no shame?

Nope. Not a bit. The Post was spinning faster and harder than a Class 3, saying:

“The first hurricane in the Pacific doesn’t typically arrive until the last week of June. Three have been named so far this season.”

Three? Three what? Not hurricanes, that’s for sure. No indeed. Tropical storms. Alvin in late May and:

“Early Wednesday, a system named Cosme was a weak tropical storm about 500 miles from the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.”

Ooooh. Scary, kids. A weak tropical storm miles from anywhere. Climate all over the place.

OK, there finally was one hurricane:

“Earlier in the workweek, Barbara became the first hurricane of the season in the northern hemisphere when it maxed out at a 75 mph Category 1.”

How bad was Barbara? Terrible if you’re an alarmist. As an Orlando news outlet explained:

“According to the latest track from NHC, it is expected to avoid any landfalls let alone any significant land interaction altogether before fizzling thanks to a combination of different dynamics.”

And it only became a hurricane on June 9.

So what has the Washington Post to say on the quietest hurricane season globally since 1970? Why, it was completely quiet about it. (As it was on “climate” save for a mention of a prediction from the Climate Prediction Center.) Unless you count “This spurt of activity shows no signs of ending for now.”

Yes. “This spurt of activity” is actually how they describe the quietest start to a season in more than half a century. Satire can’t keep up. And no matter how cynical you get, it’s not enough.