Friday, October 7, 2016

Fireworks Accident Blows Off Tip Of Florida, NOAA Says 'We Didn't Hype Matthew', Florida Man...

Stunning imagery from AFNS:


Hey, it was this or a couple "Florida Man" stories.

For newer readers, some housekeeping items: We try to name the source of anything we link to, both because the writer deserves credit for their effort and because it gives our readers who have to make time commitment decisions some relevant info right off the bat.

This raises a problem with AFNS aka America's Finest News Source aka The Onion. If we telegraph the punch it is not as effective so we try to use our reader's busyness to get the desired effect while maintaining (loosely) the sourcing policy.

And now on to the NOAA guys via Popular Science:
As Hurricane Matthew charges into Florida with winds up to 140 mph, approximately 1.5 million people are preparing to clear out of the storm’s path. By Thursday evening, the National Weather Service was imploring residents to head to safety. “Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind. Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life or immense human suffering,” the agency said on its website. On Thursday, President Obama declared a State of Emergency in Florida.

And then there was Matt Drudge, who was instead declaring a state of conspiracy. The founder of the Drudge Report spent his evening blasting out tweets that the storm’s forecast was grossly overblown. He even went so far as to accuse the government of exaggerating Hurricane Matthew’s intensity just to make a point about the dangers of climate change. Not kidding.

What. The. Bleep.

Hugh Cobb, Chief of the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, told Popular Science that he was aware of Drudge’s comments and that while he would not comment directly on them, he reacted with a groan. Cobb emphasized that all of NOAA’s data is collected straight from the storm using reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft have no political agenda....MORE
Ah what the hell, in other news:
 And bringing it all back around:
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