Scott Mandia aka Supermandia crows in his Twitter feed this AM:
The graph from Weather Underground’s Masters of Disaster, Dr. Jeff Masters, follows. But there’s only one problem – one very important storm is missing from the list.
Hurricane expert Dr. Ryan Maue immediately points out:
And, then adds a reference list. But, watch how Supermandia put his foot in his mouth just like media did on confusing what units typhoon wind speed is reported in:
Source: https://twitter.com/AGW_Prof/status/400661282543513600
185 mph equals 160 knots, anyone who knows how to use Google can do this conversion easily by simply typing in this in the Google search box: 185mph to knots
You get this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=185mph+to+knots&ie=utf-8
And there are other confusing elements to the wind speed story. More on that later. Adding to the confusion, tt is also important to note that there have been THREE super typoon Joans, one in 1959, one in 1970, and one in 1997, plus a minor storm named Joan in 1964.
Supertyphoon Joan in 1959 was far stronger (160knots) than the one in 1970 (150knots) which Masters referenced in his list.
Related articles
- Some historical perspectives on Typhoon Haiyan-Yolanda (wattsupwiththat.com)
- Climate Craziness of the Week: A note to ‘Supermandia’ – Mother Nature doesn’t even need Kryptonite to squish you like a bug (wattsupwiththat.com)
I like how his own evaluation should be used a self-criticism. “…w/o peer review…” so he goes and uses a chart from weatherunderground.com. Time for Mr. SuperMandia to follow his own advice and not open mouth insert foot.
With 167 mph Hayian is not even top ten on Master´s list
Leaving aside the idea that the experts should know what they are talking about, it would be nice if everyone used the same units. No wonder the media, politicians, and the man on the street just trying to sort through information overload become confused. Some reports are miles per hour; some are kilometres per hour. Some are in Knots? Huh? Sustained wind speed? Gust speeds? Sustained gusts? Wait, what?
I know Nature loves to be capricious, but some standard or another would (hopefully) avoid confusion.
Earth’s strongest tropical cyclones at landfall by wind speed?
Shouldn’t that be earth’s tropical cyclones by highest estimate (from any available source) of strongest wind speed at landfall?
Thanks once again for providing a factual historical comparison. But the issue is for us surely is a moral one. The climate alarmists want to hector us from a pile of corpses of the poorest people on earth who were left by the Philippine government”s corruption and negligence to face a terrible force of nature unprotected. Could not Greenpeace et al just once have found it in their hearts not to have exploited the suffering and misery of the victims of a natural disaster? The response of the warmist ideologues is shameful. The Philippine government failed to protect and now is incapable of even burying its dead citizens. Its cries global warming while its suffering citizens starve. We are witnessing the moral bankruptcy of climate alarmism.
A bit off topic, but interesting nonetheless.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/11/12/mark-bourrie-the-witch-of-november/
Some ask, “Is it worth a blog post”?
Good grief, what kind of question is that?
It’s worth a blog post if the host decides it is, period.
As it should be.
A friend of mine in Chicago has a picture on his wall of himself on his sailboat on Lake Superior, with the “Big Fitz” under way in the near background – taken the very day it sank. A very spooky photograph.
Wow, rational conversation on twitter. Imagine that.
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Displaying my ignorance again.
If I’m not mistaken, strong hurricane names are retired. (Based on damage, I think.)
Are typhoon names treated differently? Is that why there are so many “Joans”? Or did they all not cause major damage?
Myself, I use knots. I’m in shipping – have been for a long time.
Anything over 64 knots is Beaufort Force 12 – a ‘hurricane’ [or Typhoon or other local name (local to three or four billion in East Asia, maybe)], ‘that which no canvas can withstand’.
Yolanda/Hayian, plainly, was a big one.
The biggest?
One of the biggest?
Doesn’t matter now, except to geeks like me who collect records. [Apologies if anyone else here does that, too, but doesn’t like the ‘geek’ descriptor.]
Now, what does matter . . . . . . . .
The Philippines is poor; lots of folk live by the water – as they make a “living” – a few dollars a day, plus fish – from the ocean.
A lot of Filipino men are at sea – probably over a million at any one time – perhaps 35 or 40 per cent of all merchant seafarers around the world, carrying your oil and iron ore and containers and gas.. Some live in the worst affected regions. How do they feel today, days after the event, when they still cannot contact loved ones, or even neighbours?
And the Philippines need help, regardless of SuperManDia’s [one n or two?] graphic.
Please think of that.
If only there was a single point of reference that would get 85% or more of donations on to the ground in effective help, not lost in bureaucracies, kleptocracies etc.
Security, shelter, water, food – and burial services, whatever the toll.
Those are needed now.
Please think of that.
Auto
Am I still off topic?
http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/13/bungling-scientists-kill-worlds-oldest-creature-a-clam-after-507-years-in-sea-4185580/
Richard LH says: @ur momisugly November 13, 2013 at 12:08 pm
….I do wish that people would stop using this terrible event to promote THEIR particular AGW view (in either direction)….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Unfortunately when dealing with propaganda a retraction months later does absolutely no good. The false data plus emotional impact make the false data stick in the minds of the person on the street. Anthony knows this and is trying to counteract it by raising a ruckus NOW. Unfortunately that can backfire too.
Those who have money, power and the ear of the press generally win whether or not they are right or wrong.
PaulH says:
November 13, 2013 at 12:46 pm
I know Nature loves to be capricious, but some standard or another would (hopefully) avoid confusion.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There is a standard.
World Meteorological Organization policy documents and Standards:
http://www.wmo.int/pages/governance/policy/
connolly says: @ur momisugly November 13, 2013 at 12:55 pm
….Could not Greenpeace et al just once have found it in their hearts not to have exploited the suffering and misery of the victims of a natural disaster? The response of the warmist ideologues is shameful. The Philippine government failed to protect and now is incapable of even burying its dead citizens. Its cries global warming while its suffering citizens starve. We are witnessing the moral bankruptcy of climate alarmism.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That should be the quote of the week.
clipe says…. The Witch of November.
Sparks an immediate memory of the Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
http://gordonlightfoot.com/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.shtml
Auto says: @ur momisugly November 13, 2013 at 1:26 pm
… And the Philippines need help, regardless of SuperManDia’s [one n or two?] graphic.
Please think of that.
If only there was a single point of reference that would get 85% or more of donations on to the ground in effective help, not lost in bureaucracies, kleptocracies etc.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Again I will mention the Salvation Army.
Even Huffington Post says: Salvation Army
The Christian hunger and poverty-fighting organization is allocating 100 percent of all disaster donations for relief efforts “to immediately meet the specific needs of disaster survivors.” Text TYPHOON to 80888 to Donate $10 or give online. Learn more here.
Top of news.google.ca science.
http://www.reportingclimatescience.com/news-stories/article/did-climate-change-cause-haiyan-some-facts-on-cyclones-and-global-warming.html
Gale warning in effect
Eastern Lake Superior
Issued 10:30 AM EST 13 November 2013 ‘Gale’ force winds of 34 to 47 knots are occurring or expected to occur in this marine area. Watch for updated statements. Please refer to the latest marine forecasts for further details and continue to monitor the situation through Canadian Coast Guard radio or Weatheradio stations.
I still wonder, what is considered a landfall? I know Paka clobbered Guam, but fizzled before reaching Asia proper. Would that count as a landfall or just an unfortunate blip in the path? That was one big blow. I see now that the gust reading at Andersen has been discounted. Figures, the anemometer broke off in the middle of the reading. We were all quite impressed with that 236mph gust too…though not as much as by the damage.
clipe says:
November 13, 2013 at 3:19 pm
hehe, Gale Combs?
Yet another reason to not trust Jeff Masters and to never visit the awful “Weather Underground” website.
I give up,
This cyclone had a sustained windspeed of 235kph with gusts to 275 kph that makes it a pretty ordinary category 4 cyclone
From the Australian government BoM
Category 4 Severe Tropical Cyclone 225 – 279 km/h
Very destructive winds Significant roofing and structural damage. Many caravans destroyed and blown away. Dangerous airborne debris. Widespread power failures.
Make a note though, This notes that a category 4 Cyclone is very destructive particularly when in plows into a populated area, and even worse when it’s a poor populated area. For all the carry-on of ordinary storm sandy – which was not even a category 1 storm, this Cat4 storm is much, much more destructive.
Instead of calling for more waste of national debts on shutting down coal power stations and building windmills or solar farms – I propose that you nail your representatives to instead waste it on building Phillippino storm shelters, at the very least some thousands of lives will be preserved the next time this happens ….
PS (I didn’t really mean that cyclone shelters would be a waste of money – that’s the right thing to spend it on – excuse my editorial discretion to emphasise the waste and misdirection of funding away from useful pursuits that characterises the CAGW fantasy)
Richard LH:
It’s not promoting “yours” by debunking someone else’s attempt.
@bobl, thanks for that info. The other thing that people seem to have missed (you did not) that in a lot of reports the observers focus on storms over the decades but fail to include the population growth and as you said the areas where mainly the poorest people end up. Those areas are always in the low lands , flood plains, tornado alleys etc , and it does not matter what country you look at, from Bangladesh to the Gulf coast in the USA they are the same and have the same vulnerabilities because of that. I have been scratching my head for years why governments keep on keeping people in those locations. those flood plains are great for farming (Nile river, Mississippi River Valley and others all over the world) and making bricks (removing clay to keep the channels open) but must cost fortunes to rebuilt time and again.