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Hurricane Irma Reaches 185 MPH, Trailing Only Allen As Strongest Atlantic Storm On Record (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: We are quickly running out of adjectives to describe the destructive potential of Hurricane Irma. As of 2pm ET on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm's sustained winds to 185mph. This is near-record speed for a storm in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Such high, sustained winds tie Irma for the second-strongest storm on record in the Atlantic, along with Hurricane Wilma (2005), Hurricane Gilbert (1998), and the 1935 Florida Keys hurricane. Only Hurricane Allen, which reached 190 mph in 1980 before striking a relatively unpopulated area of Texas, reached a higher wind speed. Globally, the all-time record for hurricanes is held by Patricia, which reached a staggering 215 mph in the Pacific Ocean in 2015. Although sustained winds capture the most public attention, meteorologists generally measure the intensity of a storm based upon central pressures, which are considerably lower than sea-level pressure on Earth, 1,013 millibars. Typhoon Tip, in 1979, holds this record at 870 millibars. For now, at least, Irma has a relatively high central pressure of 927 millibars. Why the storm has such an odd wind-speed-pressure relationship isn't entirely clear. According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma is expected to bring catastrophic winds and potential storm surges to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the UK territory of Turks and Caicos this week. The Florida Keys could get hit by late Saturday night or Sunday.
The related links section at the bottom of the page listed "Donald Trump Wins US Presidency".
Perhaps Slashdot's servers are on to something: giant sucking windbags, massive economic damages, and constant media attention. I understand how it could mistake the resemblement.
After Texas, Florida be like.. Hold my beer!
Did you know that the constant sound of heavy rain on the windows for five solid days can make you completely insane?
Sure do. I live in the Netherlands. Why do you think they have coffee shops..
Yeah, until I see a double-blind study on climate change, I'm not going to believe it either. If it's real science they should be able to do proper tests to prove it. Otherwise, the only possible explanation that makes any sense is that it's bullshit - even the scientists can't agree, so it must all be make-believe.
I'lll quite happily live in the upstairs of my house because the floods are 5 feet deep, I know there'll be no power or water, but hey, I've got some gas canisters and I've filled up the bath tub with fresh water. I won't be able to get anywhere because I'm too lazy to row my boat and I won't be able to get any fuel for the outboard. I'll happily watch thousands of my less-'manned-up' neighbours become displaced and subsequently destitute, because I'm still waiting on that double-blind study before I'll take any sort of action at all.
As Richard Attenborough said on the subject "[whether it's true or not] that's sort of not the point".