Again . . . today's weather neither proves nor disproves global warming

After the year of Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, everyone from Texas to North Carolina was warned that global warming had caused a "new normal" - - at least a dozen named tropical storms and hurricanes per year hitting the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, many category 3 or above.

And, since then . . . nothing.

Another hurricane, another escape for South Florida.

After crossing the mountains of Cuba early Friday morning, Paula continued weakening into a tropical depression and made way for what shapes up as a perfect weekend as a cold front pushes in behind it. The balmy forecast for Saturday and Sunday: still breezy but mostly sunny, with night-time lows in the mid-60s and daytime highs in the mid-80s in Miami-Dade and Broward. The Keys will be about the same, just slightly warmer at night in the mid-70s.

Paula, the 16th named storm and ninth hurricane of a busy season, weakened at just the right time. Its winds, which had topped 100 mph, continued to drop in the hours before it made landfall around noon Thursday on the northwestern coast of Cuba near Puerto Esperanza, where a top gust of 68 mph was recorded.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/14/1874164/whew-s-fla-dodges-another-named.html

Again . . . it's hot in summer, cold and snowy in winter, and it rains during rainy season. Most years, there are hurricanes during hurricane season. Some years, the hurricanes make landfall on U.S. shores.

Yearly variations in the severity of these conditions neither prove nor disprove the long term global environmental effects of carbon based pollutants in the atmosphere. Rely on hard science, not media reports of anecdotal evidence by those who already made up their minds either way.

By the way, it did snow 3" yesterday at Whiteface Lake Placid ski and snowsports area. That proves nothing, other than it's going to be a great ski season!