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Worst rain in 1,000 years causes billion$ of damage in Florida. Except it's actually not true . . .



Photo above - alligator swimming alongside a car in Florida during a rainy day. Not this week - some other day

Miami – and Sarasota – both got 6.5 inches of rain on June 11th. The media immediately claimed this was a “once in a 1,000 year event”. Skeptic that I am, I googled this. And of course it turns out to be complete BS. See link below.

Granted, 6 inches in a day is A LOT. Especially in urban areas which have about 90% of their surfaces paved, and are hoping to divert all that water into their puny storm drains. So yes, I'm not shocked to see Miami and Sarasota photos of cars knee deep in water. I saw the same sort of pictures about a decade ago, in NYC, when their drainage pumps failed during a rainy day. Here in Tampa we don't pave every square inch of the land, and a lot of homes and apartments still have actual lawns. So, it was soggy, but we didn't fear for our lives.

Okay, so when WAS the rainiest day ever in Florida? Apparently October 12th, 1947. Yeps - 2 lifetimes ago. Florida got 15 inches. More than double Monday's fake 1,000 year record. Of course Miami wasn't 90% covered in concrete then. 1947 was a disaster, but nothing that could be considered an existential threat. Just an ordinary hurricane.

Rainiest year ever? That would also be 1947, with 70 inches. Florida's average rainfall is 55 inches. 2023 saw 53 inches, below average. As were the preceding 3 years. The driest year on record was 2006, with 41 inches. See where this is headed?

It's likely 2024 could have higher rainfall than average. It's UNLIKELY that both the above and below average measurements are the result of global warming. Or the breakup of the Antarctic ice sheet, etc.

However, global warming IS REAL. The current ice age peaked about 20,000 years ago. Cuomo Sapiens was barely holding on then, having mistimed our migration to Europe. Just 2 million people on planet earth, mostly in Africa sunning themselves comfortably. European Cuomo sapiens had already killed off ALL the Neanderthals thousands of years before that, so it wasn't clan v. clan wargames with spears which hurt out population. It was the glaciers the glaciers everywhere. So our ancestors turn to killing Mammoths. All of them. Chased them over cliffs, where they tumbled to their deaths, to become mammoth burgers.

Since the ice age peak most of the glaciers have retreated. We still have some in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, etc. And we still have ice caps at both the north and south poles. Which doesn't happen unless we're still IN an ice age. Which we are. Slow melt.

And those ice caps are going to keep melting, no matter what kind of car you drive, or how many tax rebates there are on solar panels. That's not to say we shouldn't continue to switch from coal and crude oil to solar. I'm on board with that. Just don't expect it to halt the ice caps from melting. Sea levels will rise as much as 6 feet by the year 2100. And by 195 feet when all the ice caps and glaciers are completely gone. That's when earth's climate will finally be “normal" again. And that sea level rise is going to cost us a LOT of money. Better not spend it all on tax rebates for solar panels, okay? We'll need some for moving vans.

I'm just sayin' . . .

~1,000-Year Deluge: Florida’s Rainfall Shatters Historical Records (scitechdaily.com)~

~1947 Florida–Georgia hurricane - Wikipedia~
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@SusanInFlorida says
Apparently October 12th, 1947. Yeps - 2 lifetimes ago. Florida got 15 inches.

Actually, you are mis-reporting. Actually, that was not a one-day rainfall.

The 1947 Florida-Georgia hurricane impacted Florida from Oct 10 thru 13. NOT a one-day event.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_Florida%E2%80%93Georgia_hurricane

Yeah, a little googling confirms the weekend of Oct 11-12 got 12-15 inches. And since weekends often begin after work Friday, that rainfall may have spread over three days.
https://journals.flvc.org/browardlegacy/article/download/77084/74605/78719


Oh, and one more thing; I appreciate your efforts to cite sources, but citing full URLs beginning with "https://" eliminates all the ambiguity, doncha know.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@ElwoodBlues The 15 inch total was JUST for october 12th. there was also rain the day before and afterwards. your poor reading skills and refusal to examine links is again on display for everyone to read.

aren't you ever embarrassed by all this?
@SusanInFlorida WRONG!!! Your reference is wikipedia. Here's the only mention of 15 inches in that article (found by using the browser to search for the word 'inch'):

The cyclone then turned sharply to the northeast, accelerated, and strengthened to a hurricane, within 30 hours crossing the southern Florida peninsula. Across South Florida, the storm produced widespread rainfall of up to 15 inches (380 mm) and severe flooding, among the worst ever recorded in the area, that led to efforts by the United States Congress to improve drainage in the region.

Those 30 hours certainly spread over two days. And those 30 hours refer to the EYE of the storm transiting Florida. Rain bands can extend hundreds of miles (and many hours) beyond the eye.

Aren't you ever embarrassed by your errors??