Posted on 10/07/2016 6:46:30 AM PDT by SSS Two
Matt Drudge, author of the conservative media site drudgereport.com, is being ridiculed over his tweets in advance of Hurricane Matthew's arrival in Florida.
Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning the conservative firebrand took to Twitter to imply that the storm might not be as powerful as government officials say it is.
First he tweeted: "The deplorables are starting to wonder if govt has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated point on climate."
Drudge was apparently referring to Hillary Clinton's description of some of Donald Trump's supporters as "deplorables."
Just a few minutes later, Drudge wrote: "Hurricane Center has monopoly on data. No way of verifying claims. Nassau ground observations DID NOT match statements! 165mph gusts? WHERE?"
The National Hurricane Center is a division of the federal government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
And in the wee hours of Friday morning, Drudge tweeted, "Don't Blame Mother Nature. Blame Mankind..." with an unflattering photo of a windswept Clinton and a link to an article on the website climatedepot.com. The Climate Depot article downplays a possible link between extreme weather and climate change.
As NPR has previously reported, officials have urged or ordered millions of Americans along the storm's path to head inland. In Haiti, where Matthew landed as a Category 4 storm, at least 280 people were killed, according to local officials.
Since Drudge's tweets questioning the severity of the storm and official warnings about it, he's drawn sharp rebuke. Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison tweeted, "So irresponsible. If you are in the path of Hurricane Matthew, do not listen to this man! Stay safe!"
Greg Fishel, chief meteorologist of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., tweeted: "Whatever respect I had for Drudge, which was minimal to start with, was destroyed with this tweet. How insanely asinine can one be?"
Others on social media suggested Drudge go to Florida himself, to really find out just how dangerous Matthew might be.
Follow Gregory Pijanowski @G_Pijanowski If Matt Drudge thinks Hurricane Matthew is hoax, why not go to Florida to prove it? 6:19 AM - 7 Oct 2016 1 1 Retweet 6 6 likes
Drudge's tweets tap into a sentiment held by some that climate change is not real, a view at odds with the overwhelming consensus of scientists. Trump, the Republican Party's nominee for president, has said several times that climate change is a hoax. Trump tweeted that it was a myth created by the Chinese, though later said he was joking. (As NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reported, 2016 seems to have been a year full of conspiracy theories, and they've been very hard to shake.)
And at a campaign event Thursday night, Trump urged people to stay safe and praised Republican Gov. Rick Scott for his leadership as the storm nears. He even offered a sort of warning to those in its path, "It looks like it's a big one and it looks like it's going to be a bad one, it looks like. Hopefully it takes that right turn."
Re Haiti: The strongest winds in Matthew weren’t over the heavily populated areas. The biggest threat for Haiti was always (and will always be) heavy rain and the mudslides that go with it (because of deforestation). That is always the killer there.
That’s fine. Still wayyyyy short of sustained winds of 175 mph.
Nobody is denying that this is a Hurricane. And it’s still dangerous. But when you, not you but people report 175 mph winds with no perspective, then citizens think “My God!! It’s gonna blow 175 mph! We’re all gonna die!” Which is basically what the Governor of Florida said.
And then you have Hillary and Obama implying that the Hurricane was/is caused by humans? And you wonder why people are skeptical?
Oh, and BTW. It looks like all the experts were Wrong...as hard as that is for the “experts” to admit. Plenty of excuses/reasons for being wrong. But...inaccurate? at best.
Nonsense.
A good storm basement would survive 150mph winds.
The house will not. But then the Feds will not steal your valuables you left behind.
Your position seems to be that even thought NHC-reported wind speeds are not corroborated by actual direct measurement of wind speeds, there is no doubt that NHC models are accurate. You have no healthy scientific skepticism; just faith that the weather models are correct.
I would also like to think that you understand that SFMR -- like hurricane hunters and dropspondes -- do not directly measure surface level wind speeds. SFMR provides data from which surface level wind speeds may be derived. Scientific skepticism requires us to concede that it is possible that the models used to derive wind speeds from SFMR are inaccurate. (I also understand that there are those who will accept these weather models as an article of faith, too.)
As long as actually observed wind speeds don't match NHC reported wind speeds, we must allow for the possibility that the models are flawed. When actually observed wind speeds are consistently below those derived from NHC models, it increases the possibility that the models are flawed.
Accepting the accuracy of NHC models despite no evidence that they are accurate is an act of faith, not science.
Tell you what. YOU be sure to get in a basement during a ‘cane.
We’ll pull your little drowned bodies out later...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3477252/posts?page=1133#1133
Quick, run get in the basment. You’ll be sure to be safe there! And your ‘valuables’ too. Fed’s’ll never get them!
(the fish on the other hand...and swamp creatures...they’ll be livin’ large...)
The term “climate change” is redundant as you stated. The term “climate change denier” is an oxymoron invented to vilify political opponents.
The satellite picture they show red for the storm extending well inland. Red areas are supposed to be for wind speeds greater than 74. How is it that the Daytona Beach airport equipment doesn't find this?
He should look at the Chinese records, too!
Okay, the hurricane basement will need a raft and some oars.
I always figured concrete Dome Homes are ideal for tornados and hurricanes, but nobody wants to live in them. One man did and was the only home that survived. Haiti would be ideal for domes.
No argument re: domes in Haiti.
Wonder how many could have been built with the billions Clinton siphoned off the foundation...
You are so right....and I am so wrong. I bow to your extreme intellect and I guess my 29 years of working in this field has not prepared me to deal with such a great mind. I know Rick Knabb...and many other tropical forecasters (Steve Lyons was one of my profs at A&M). I can put you in touch with them so you can set them straight.
Yep. I showed him one of those papers. The other one I showed him (can't remember the third) was from tree ring data in the southern hemisphere. They sampled tree rings from old lumber in 17th century buildings and proved it was cold in the southern hemisphere too. He dismissed them. Told him: "My point in sending you these was not to argue their merits...but to prove your claim false that there was absolutely NO research that shows LIA was global.
We live 20 miles to the north west of Charleston.
Local news is claiming winds in my town, as being 25 mph.
My trees aren’t moving!
It is all exaggerated and that is what you learn over time. That is why there are so many of us staying.
I too have given up arguing with the warming crowd. It is pointless. To ignore the influence of the sun on global temperatures/climate is to ignore the scientific principle.
It would be comical if it were not so corrupt and expensive.
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