Facts on Hurricanes and Tornadoes Past Present

by Lewis Loflin

Note: Throughout recent recorded history, California has experienced periodic droughts, such as 1841, 1864, 1924, 1928–1935, 1947–1950, 1959–1960, 1976–1977, 1986–1992, 2006–2010, and 2011–2017, and 2020–2022.

The climate spiritual preachers believe recent global warming, which has warmed two degrees Fahrenheit since 1800, will cause more powerful and deadly tornados.

But according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, of the top 25 most deadly tornadoes, all but one occurred before 1955.

Of the 25 worst tornadoes, only one has occurred since I was born in 1957. This hurricane occurred in May 2011 in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin ranked at number seven; 158 people lost their lives.

The worst hurricane in US history was the Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925. Nearly 700 people died in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. An additional 2000 people were injured, and 15,000 homes were destroyed.

If I recall my history books, this tornado cut a 219-mile-long swath; others claim ~170-mile-long swath.

There is no evidence that tornadoes today are more deadly than in the past. Today modern radar and weather warning systems reduce fatalities. Climate spiritualists claim recent tornadoes are more lethal anyway.

There is no proof, and they fall back on property damage. That could be true due to the much higher population density and massive increase in infrastructure and homes.

I am not arguing climate change isn't real. The computer models continue to fail and only hurt their cause. This hysteria also damages the reputation of science.

Ref. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html

According to NOAA, precipitation from 1910 to 2017 has increased. This increase in precipitation should not have happened because climate spiritualists claim that global warming would cause more significant droughts.

Instead of relying on questionable computer models, let us examine known and proven science.

Based on actual historical data, 1930s droughts are the worst in America and the world. The 1950s were also bad.

As NOAA pointed out, increased temperature increases precipitation and rainfall. To quote,

"How is that (rain) tied to warming? The same way: a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor and an atmosphere with more water vapor can make more precipitation. And the warmer it gets, the higher the theoretical "Big Rain" events can get. That's playing out in the data, pretty much any way you look at it.

These two trends - wetter conditions overall, and bigger Big Rain... And that brings us back to hurricanes and tropical storms, or "tropical cyclones" for short. We've long known that generally speaking, warmer means more intense storms and more potential rainfall, but the latest piece of knowledge on tropical cyclones is that they appear to be slowing down, for reasons that aren't entirely clear."

All graphics and newspaper clippings will open new window.
See the graphic Severe drought conditions in California 1957.
See the graphic California record flooding 1938 LA Times.
See the graphic California floods 1950.
See the graphic California flooding 1955-56.

But what about all of the flooding in California in December 2022 and January 2023? Doesn't this prove that humans are causing floods and droughts? Not according to historical and scientific records.

The LA Times noted that the worst flooding in California was around 1938. This flooding followed a prolonged and devastating drought across most of the United States, including California, known today as the Dustbowl.

In addition, California had another severe drought from 1947 to 1950. In 1950 California again suffered severe flooding across much of the state, similar to today. In 1956 California suffered severe flooding again. Around 1959 through 60, California was once again dealing with drought.

This variable climate pattern is typical for California going back to records in 1862. There was so much flooding in California in 1862 large areas of the state were virtually uninhabitable.

See the graphic Massive Richmond Virginia flooding Hurricane Camille 1969 and Hurricane Agnes 1972.

Of the 25 most deadly hurricanes, only one has occurred in the last 51 years. That was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Climate spiritualists then claimed this was the beginning of a string of new and deadly hurricanes. This, as usual, proved unfounded. There was a nearly 12-year pause in significant storms.

Katrina is number three or six, depending on how we juggle the numbers. One thousand two hundred people are estimated to have died in Katrina.

The deadliest hurricane was the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which left 8,000 people dead. In 1972, Agnes left 122 dead, mainly in Virginia. Of the remaining 23, the most deadly storms occurred before 1950.

Many of the fatalities with Katrina were due to government failure, such as improper maintenance of dikes that caused massive flooding.

Also, widespread black crime and gang violence in New Orleans added to the death toll.

The usual claims of climate spiritualists that hurricanes are more deadly today than in the past are untrue based on the numbers.

Again, climate change is real and ongoing. The constant failure of computer models should force these climate Grifters to stop the constant alarmism that is discrediting their cause. I am not concerned about a two-degree Fahrenheit temperature increase since 1800.

Ref. https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/articles/deadliest-us-hurricanes