Hurricane Melissa, Cat 6, Katherine Hayhoe, & What You Can Do

On Facebook, I follow Climate Scientist Katherine Hayhoe, and I have written about her many times before.*

I was particularly struck earlier this week when I saw this post from her on Sunday, October 26th. In it, she detailed the intensity of Hurricane Melissa as it was approaching Jamaica, and how this storm was one of great concern. I also appreciate the extent to which she included links to her "Global Weirding" video series. In her post, she had specific links to read for specific situations that many fit with her many critics and climate skeptics. The level of information is not only informative and detailed, but very easy to understand. It is a teaching tool. Given that, I screenshot the first part of Kathrine Hayhoe's post, and then I compiled a slide deck that includes one slide per thoughts/concern and embed the videos that correspond with each link.

Katherine Hayhoe this week has also had some interesting thoughts on if perhaps we have entered the era where we really need a "Category 6" on the Saffir-Simpson scale. This "Cat 6" would be for hurricanes with sustained winds over 192 miles per hour. It makes for good food for thought. Especially since we really have not needed that level before. However, warmer waters generate more intense storms... and hence where we are.

She also shared this graphic this week from Jeff Beradelli, WFLA-TV Tampa Bay's Chief meteorologist and climate specialist. It details the significant increase in Category 4 and 5 storms in the nearly 50 years. You cannot argue that hurricanes have intensified given this data.

At this point (on Halloween when I write this), the storm has battered Jamaica, making landfall on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 with winds of over 185 mph. The island nation was devastated by the power of Mother Nature in this record-breaking storm. The storm also tore through the Caribbean and wrecked havoc on Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Bahamas as well. According to this CNN article, 77% of the country was out of power at one point along with multiple deaths with all of the destruction.

If you are looking for ways to help or donate to the hurricane recovery in Jamaica, consider these resources:

• Global Empowerment Mission ​​
• Project HOPE
• All Hands & Hearts​
• GlobalGiving​
• Charity Navigator 

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*Note: Posts I've written about Katherine Hayhoe in the past include:

• Earth Day 2025 Resources  (4-19-2025)
  
• Katherine Hayhoe's Inspirational Recommendations for Climate Content  (12-29-2023)
  
• The Six Americas  (2-16-2022)
  
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope  (2-9-2022)
  
• Eunice Foote: Foot at the Front Door of Climate Change  (3-31-2021)
  
• Climate Change, Coronavirus, & Katherine Hayhoe  (9-26-2020)
  
• Global Weirding  (7-26-2017)

Slideshow created from Katherine Hayhoe's Facebook post on 10-26-2025 and compiled her: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MAw5X3xVtDpR8argRz_kTOgsvftvav4_Diq7CK6uR40/edit?usp=sharing, Image from https://www.instagram.com/p/C6xbBNKM7cz/ and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1361109002252601&set=a.233252805038232

Once Again...Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season

This year's hurricane season is shaping up to be a doozy.

We've already seen the wallop and carnage that Hurricane Helene left in her wake from September 24--29, 2024. Making landfall as a Category 4 storm, Helene had major hits in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. In the Big Bend region of Florida, this was the 3rd major storm in 13 months. The Tampa Bay Area was hit with record breaking storm surges. Major roads, bridges, buildings, and homes were washed out along with damaged electrical lines. Georgia's farming industry took a major hit, knocking out 1/3 of both the cotton and peanut crops, over 200 poultry house, and more than 40,000 acres of pecans. Flooding deeply affectect North Carolina, leaving some roads slated to remain in disrepair until March of 2025. People throughout the region are still without power, without drinkable water, people are still missing, 230+ people died, and entire communities are devastated. 

Estimated damage: Somewhere between $145 -- $165 billion.

Now, not even two weeks later, Hurricane Milton is lined up to take a hit as a potential Category 3 hurricane. Again on Florida's western coast, again coming across the Gulf of Mexico. This time, it is tracking further south than the Big Bend area of Florida where Helene hit, with the Tampa Bay Area being a potential point of landfall this Wednesday, October 9th. The path additionally is currently projected to cross Central Florida. The good news of this is that it hopefully will track south of the Helene-saturated states just north of Florida. The bad news is that the Tampa area is still heavily in clean up mode from Helene. Schools in that area are already closed from Monday to Wednesday to allow time to plan boarding up and evacuations.

We lived in Florida for 6 years. Hurricane preparation is no fun. It's nowhere near as benign as a northern snow day off of school.

With ocean water temperatures on the rise, we are having more and more "once in a lifetime hurricanes." In fact, they are coming at a frequency of 3 times more often than 100 years ago, and with numbers doubling since 1980. 

They definitely show us that Mother Nature is in charge--we aren't!

What you can do to offer hurricane relief and assistance?

1. Watch out for misinformation. This season, potentially with the US election ahead and political agendas, rumors abound. Check out the facts here: FEMA's Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response. 

2. Donate to trustworthy agencies and organizations. The American Red Cross and UNICEF are doing a lot for hurricane relief.

3. Volunteer when and where it is safe. If your local community is affected, or one near you, look to see if, when, and where you can volunteer. To learn more, check out FEMA's hurricane relief webpage.

4. If you are in the path of a hurricane, follow the local recommendations for evacuation and safety measures.

Data about Hurricane Helene from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/05/us/hurricane-helene-damage-deaths.html, Hurricane Helene radar map from https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/09/27/hurricane-helene-damage-map/75408113007/, Hurricane Milton projection map from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tropical-storm-milton-forms-gulf-of-mexico-florida/, FEMA Hurricane relief image: https://www.fema.gov/blog/4-ways-help-hurricane-helene-survivors

Visualizing the Ripple Effect of Climate Disasters

I ran across this amazing data visualization graphic on FutureEarth's Instagram page. 

Created by Federica Fragapane (whose entire gallery can be found here). A little bit more digging and I discovered that this visualization goes with Scientific American's February 1st, 20224 article "Visualizing Climate Disasters' Surprising Cascading Effects" by Lori Youmshajekian & Federica Fragapane.

Just like a stone thrown in the water creates a myriad of ripples that go out from the inner circle, this graphic shows the ripple effects that happen with climate change-related disasters. It becomes an extensive and interrelated dot-to-dot. Some of those outer rings of dots connect to surprising effects that one wouldn't suspect like allergies, food insecurity, skin infections, mental health issues, malnutrition and more. 

Everything is connected. Given that, we need to use our connections to make sure to live better. We need to use our human connections to collectively make our planet a better place, and help protect it from the climate hazards that could be ahead if our planet keeps heating up.

Image from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/visualizing-climate-disasters-surprising-cascading-effects/

Feeling the Hurt After Hurricane Ian

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, you've heard a thing or two about Hurricane Ian. Where I live, we a're getting days worth of dark and dreary, cold rain from it as it stalls here.

Additionally, after living in Florida for 6 years a good decade and a half ago, I've been through a hurricane or two myself. All the familiar vocabulary comes "raining" back: cones of uncertainty, spaghetti models, storm surges, maximum sustained wins, and more. Also, concern for friends and favorite places I still have in Florida brought this particularly close to home for me.

Hurricane Ian made landfall at a high Category 4 storm, doing major damage in Fort Myers with its 7 foot storm surge. [The sustained winds were only two mph short of being a Category 5 storm.]  Ian tied for the 5th strongest hurricane to make landfall. It then crossed Florida, doubled back over sea gaining strength and hit South Carolina as a Category 1 storm. In Florida, more than 2.3 million lost power. Areas of Florida got 12 to 28 inches of rain. Hundreds of flights were canceled in the domino effect of airfare cancellations. It has become the 6th deadliest US Hurricane since 1980 with just over 100 deaths, and it is Florida's biggest storm since 1935. Financially, the total damages range in the neighborhood of $68-100 BILLION. Capital B. Capital "all" letters. 

Climate change gets credit for intensifying the rainfall, making Hurricane Ian's rain 10% worse due to greenhouse gas pollution, thanks to life beyond the Industrial Revolution. Climate change often also gets credit for warming the oceans which only serves to intensify the growth and power of the storm.

This video from NOAA SciJinks shows how hurricanes form.  It's the perfect informative video for both young and old.

If you are in a position to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, here are some resources:

• FEMA's "Here's How You Can Help Hurricane Survivors" website
• Read World Central Kitchen's story of how they've provided hot meals during the storm and support their cause.
• CDP: The Center of Disaster Philanthropy's recovery and support network--you can funnel your donations directly to the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season's relief.
• Team Rubicon's Disaster Response--Donate to help support military veterans who serve as first responders to come in and assist during the humanitarian crises that arrive when disasters hit.
• Verified Hurricane Ian GoFundMe fundraisers

Video from https://youtu.be/wPDoIrGUrEc, image from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/live-map-track-the-path-of-hurricane-ian