Hurricane Season 2024 Finally Comes To An End, Good Riddance!

Hurricane Helene approaching Florida in September. This
hurricane proved to be the United States' deadliest hurricane
since Katrina in 2005. The 2024 hurricane season, which
ended Saturday, was among the most destructive on record.

 Back on Saturday, we said our goodbyes to the Atlantic hurricane season of 2024.

And we also told it to don't let the door hit you on your ass on the way out.  It turned out to be a troublesome one, that's for sure. 

As NPR reports, it was the deadliest hurricane season in two decades and easily one of the costliest. Five hurricanes hit the continental United States in 2024, a near-record for the most hits in a single season. 

Hurricane Helene alone snuffed out 150 lives, the biggest death toll from a single hurricane in the United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Damage from this year's hurricanes amount to at least $190 billion, the second most costly hurricane year after 2017. That was the year that brought us Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

As we head into the Christmas season, thousands of people are still experiencing heartache, loss, fear, homelessness and financial ruin because of this year's hurricanes 

For the record 2024 brought us 18 named storms with winds of at least 39 mph. Eleven of those storms became hurricanes (74 mph or greater) and five were major hurricanes (111 mph or greater)

The second half of the season was when most of the action happened. Twelve named storms formed after what is normally the season's peak in early September. Seven hurricanes formed after September 25, which is the most for that late in the season. 

We were warned back in the spring this would be a hyper hurricane season, as near record warm ocean temperatures and a favorable atmospheric setup would turbocharge the season, leading to a possibly record number of hurricanes.  Some estimates indicated we'd have more tropical storms and hurricanes than names in the 2024 queue for these storms.

But the last tropical storm of the season was Sara, leaving three unused names this year, Tony, Valerie and William.

Normally there would have been additional storms in August and the first week of September, which is near the peak of the season. All the ingredients seemed to be there for storms, but they just didn't materialize during that period. It was an odd mid-season lull

Meteorologists will probably spend years studying why the hurricanes mercifully shut down during those weeks in August. 

Some leading theories include the idea that disturbances moving off the west coast ofAfrica - which often eventually develop into hurricanes - were too far north this year, missing out on the very warm waters further south that would fuel these storms.

Also, to get a hurricane going, the upper atmosphere should be cooler than the air near the surface. That would create instability to few the thunderstorms that are the seeds of hurricanes.

This year, the atmosphere was warm through tens of thousands of feet in elevation. That prevented the needed instability to create nascent tropical storms. 

Those meteorologists will study if these really were the factors preventing hurricanes in August and whether climate change had anything to do with these atmospheric conditions. That research will help with predictions of future hurricane season, and individual hurricanes. 

Two of the season's hurricanes managed to cause damage here in Vermont. 

In July, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl (which was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm on record in the Caribbean) teamed up with a stalled weather front to unleash intense downpours, especially across much of central and northern Vermont. The result was the state's third catastrophic flood within a year.   

In early August, the remnants of Hurricane Debby blasted much of Vermont with high winds, especially the Champlain Valley. 

Both storms proved you don't have to be anywhere close to where a hurricane made landfall to have those storms cause real trouble.  

Campaign And Troll Falsehoods Sow More Fear, Confusion In Southeast Disaster Zone

One thing victims of the extreme Hurricanes Helene and Milton disasters  don't need are more fear and confusion that they already have. 

MAGA lies about FEMA's response to Hurricanes
Helene and Milton are dangerous for many reasons,
but apparently victimizing victims is fine if 
it somehow helps Trump get elected. 

Unlike water, electricity, shelter open roads and cell service, fear and confusion are in plentiful supply, as one would expect in such an extreme calamity. 

It is now the campaign strategy of Donald Trump and his supporters to promote wild stories about the federal response to the twin disasters.  

I guess firing up the "base" to win the White House is more important than the lives of the people coping with these calamities. 

People dealing with hurricanes Helene and Milton have the added misfortune of experiencing these catastrophes in the final weeks of a a nail biter presidential election. 

 FEMA DIVERTING FUNDS TO MIGRANTS?

The Washington Post a week ago delved into one of the the gems in North Carolina's disaster zone that seems to have gotten a lot of traction on social media;

"Former president Donald Trump doubled down on  misinformation about Hurricane Helene in an appearance in this storm-ravaged state Friday, repeating the falsehood that the White House used disaster funds for migrants."

Of course, that's not true. 

White House Spokesman Andrew Bates said flatly. "No disaster relief funding at all was used to support migrants housing and services. None. At. All."

 Republican governors of South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, along with the Democratic governor of North Carolina all say that they have been happy with FEMA's disaster response so far.

Of course, Trump and his followers are having none of that. They'll believe what they want to believe, as to them, the truth is besides the point. How dare those Republican governors contradict Dear Leader! 

ORIGINS OF LIES

Like every wild, false story, it all begins with a grain of truth. FEMA has enough money and personnel to swoop into disaster zones to provide immediate aid in the aftermath of these terrible disasters.  

However, the agency is in fact having trouble funding long term aid for disaster areas, such as reimbursing municipalities and states for road and infrastructure repairs they've done. 

Hurricane Helene destruction in North Carolina. Trump's
lies about the FEMA response could be making things
even worse for these disaster victims. 

Congress has to appropriate more money for that piece of the FEMA pie. A stopgap spending bill that prevented a partial government shutdown omitted additional funding for FEMA. Congress is in a recess now during the campaign season.

However, there have been calls for Congress to reconvene in the coming days to pass a supplemental FEMA money bill.  House Speaker Mike Johnson is against that idea. 

I am certain that there's been FEMA missteps already in North Carolina and in other Helene disaster zones. You get that in an emergency. FEMA aid was probably slow to reach some victims, given how many were stranded in inaccessible mountains and hollows. 

And there's probably bureaucracy frustrating people who intensely needed help last week, never mind right now. 

It's also no secret that FEMA can be an annoying bureaucracy. Vermont Sen. Peter Welch has called for a federal audit of FEMA,  citing administrative bloat and bureaucratic inefficiency.

But as far as FEMA ignoring desperate flood victims in North Carolina to coddle migrants, that's all stupid campaign lies. Most FEMA employees really want to help disaster victims, and are really good at their jobs. 

CONSEQUENCE OF LIES

FEMA is not capping aid to victims at $750.00.  They didn't block helicopters in North Carolina from searching for survivors. They're not diverting disaster aid to migrants. They didn't confiscate all the private aid that went to North Carolina. And the federal government is not withholding aid to areas where a majority of voters support Trump. 

There are also even crazier notions that a surprisingly large segment of the population believe. These include the idea that the government is somehow controlling the strength and path of hurricanes and other disasters. I'm planning an upcoming, separate post on that whackadoodle aspect of all this lies circulating around. 

 Meanwhile, these FEMA lies could have real life consequences. It's not just campaign chatter.   

The White House, its staff and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris keep clapping back hard at the misinformation around the Helene response. They are all warning that they falsehoods could keep hurricane victims from seeking the assistance they critically need.

I also worry about FEMA workers. That kind of MAGA lies about FEMA can encourage the real wackos among them to consider violence and attacks against these workers. They're already reportedly receiving death threats. 

TikTok and X posts, along with other social media, is sadly rife with threats against federal workers just trying to provide some aid to disaster victims. 

Also, talk about wasting resources!  FEMA had to launch a web page to combat false rumors about its activities.  I agree that they had to do it to attempt to make sure accurate information gets out there. But it's a waste of time and resources, when if Trump and his minions hadn't resorted to all these lies, that FEMA rumor-quashing page would not have been necessary. 

Oh, by the way, there has been a case in which a president has diverted funds away from FEMA and steered the money toward his pet project. It wasn't the Biden administration. 

It was none other than Donald Trump, who's now falsely whining about FEMA money being diverted.

As Politico reported, Trump in 2018 initially wanted to refuse disaster aid to California after some destructive wildfires

And talk about a bald faced transactional, corrupt mindset, an aide to Trump talked him into providing the aid by pointing out fire-damaged Orange County, California had more Trump supporters than the entire state of Iowa. 

President Biden responded to this news by saying, "You can't only help those in need if they voted for you."

Which makes me glad Biden was president when deep blue Vermont suffered a series of flood disasters in 2023 and 2024.

WHY WE KNOW LIES AREN'T TRUE 

Anybody can go on social media and make up anything. The more provocative and outrageous, the more clicks and revenue some idiots can make. Truth is besides the point.

Say what you want about journalists - and there's a lot to say - but if FEMA was doing anything like what Trump and MAGA are accusing them of, it would be all over the news.

I was in journalism for decades. I know how they tend to think. Journalists love to get the scoop, of course, and they would shout from the rooftops if FEMA really was blocking aid. Or giving the aid to migrants instead of hurricane victims. 

There's two reasons for that.

One, like anybody else, journalists really want to advance their careers.  If a journalist broke a big story like that, there's potential for advancement, more income,  heck maybe even a Pulitzer Prize.

Also, many journalists have a "comfort the afflicted, afflicted the comfortable" ethos. Many - not all -journalists love to stand up for powerless victims of the powerful. So if FEMA really were victimizing hurricane victims who have lost everything, they would be all over it.

Come to think of it, I guess that's why  you've heard so often on the news Trump's accusations against FEMA described as lies, which they are. It's been all over the news. Because this is a case in many journalists are trying to comfort the hurricane victims being afflicted by Trump's falsehoods.   

BREAKING: Florida Now Under NEW Hurricane Threat

Projections released Saturday by the National Hurricane
Center bring a powerful hurricane to already battered
Florida midweek. This projected path is subject to change

 In a report I did yesterday, it appeared as if some sort of tropical system heading toward Florida might prove weak and disorganized.  

At least that was the hope. 

Now, however, many of the same parts of Florida severely whacked by Hurricane Helene are about to get it again. That "weak" storm is now expected to become a powerful hurricane. 

As of this morning, a tropical depression had formed in the western Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to strengthen slowly at first, then rapidly as it moves at an increasing forward speed toward the west coast of Florida. 

Per the National Hurricane Center:

"There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents in these areas should ensure they have their hurricane plans in place, follow any advice given by local officials and check back for updates in the forecast. "

The forecast path could change, but right now, the projected path takes what will probably be Hurricane Milton could end up somewhere near Tampa or Fort Myers around Wednesday. This is the precise area of Florida that suffered record high storm surges and probably more than $1 billion in damage from coastal flooding less that two weeks ago.

On top of that, current forecasts have top wind speeds at landfall somewhere near 110 mph. Given the record warm temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico feeding this storm, those winds could end up being stronger than forecast. 

People there are only just beginning to clean up that mess, and here we go again. It's so disheartening. I really feel for these people.

Also, sort of like Helene, heavy rain is likely to precede the arrival of Wannabe Milton on Monday and Tuesday in Florida. That would prime the pump for inland flooding once the hurricane hits. 

If there's any good news out of this, strong indications are wannabe Milton will move in an east to northeast direction across Florida and then out into the Atlantic Ocean off the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Thursday. 

That means it will NOT curve up toward western North Carolina and surrounding areas, scene of the deadly and cataclysmic floods with Helene at the end of September.  No rain is forecast in western North Carolina for the next week at least. 

Further out in the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricanes Kirk and Leslie pose no threats to land. However, once Kirk ceases being a hurricane in the cold North Atlantic waters, it will become a powerful "regular" storm that could cause wind damage and flooding in much of western Europe toward Wednesday and Thursday.