Following up with some suggested socials for y’all

Hi all,

Unusually warm seas—up to 4°F above normal—are fueling Hurricane Florence as it nears the East Coast. Florence is expected to stall for as long as six days near the coastline, bringing extreme precipitation totals to the Southeast. Storm surge is also a concern, with up to 13 feet possible in parts of North Carolina.

We’re sharing a new Climate Signals backgrounder on Florence, along with related graphics, videos and suggested social language. Thank you in advance for your help amplifying!

(NOTE: Please avoid using the main #Florence and #HurricaneFlorence hashtags for now as they are reserved for vital info for people dealing with the storm firsthand.)

SUGGESTED SOCIAL LANGUAGE

Hurricanes are fueled by ocean heat. This week, Hurricane Florence got a boost from warm waters that were up to 4°F above normal. http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence #GlobalWarming #ClimateChange <insert Ocean Temps & Hurricane Power GIF>

One year after Harvey hit Texas, Hurricane Florence is threatening the Carolinas. Sea level rise, warmer air and warmer oceans due to #climatechange amplify hurricane damages. WATCH:http://bit.ly/HurricaneVideo <insert Hurricane Impacts graphic>

Trump admin wants to withdraw the US from the #ParisAgreement — but we need int’l action to minimize the impacts of #climatechange on hurricanes like Florence http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert More Rainfall graphic>

Most storm-related fatalities occur due to water-related incidents. #ClimateChange contributes to water hazards during hurricanes like Florence via higher storm surge and heavier rainfall. http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert Narrated Video>

Florence is expected to stall for as long as six days near the US coastline, bringing extreme precipitation totals to the Southeast. A similar situation contributed to the record rainfall during #HurricaneHarvey. http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert Harvey 50,000 Year Rainfall graphic>

Over the last year, five different attribution studies firmly tied the increase in rainfall dumped by #HurricaneHarvey to global warming. Florence is now forecast to bring 20-30 inches to coastal North Carolina. http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert Harvey 50,000 Year Rainfall graphic>

Thanks to #climatechange, storm surge now piggybacks on top of higher seas. Hurricane Florence is forecast to bring up to 13 feet of storm surge to parts of North Carolina. http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert Narrated Video>

Hurricanes are heat engines powered by warm seas. Unusually warm seas—up to 4˚F warmer than the baseline average from 1961-1990—are fueling Florence. More details at http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence<insert Ocean Temps & Hurricane Power GIF>

2017 U.S. National Climate Assessment: “Human factors have contributed to the observed increase in hurricane activity since the 1970s.” Info on #climatechange and Hurricane Florence: http://bit.ly/SignalsFlorence <insert Ocean Temps & Hurricane Power GIF>

____________________________________________

Philip Newell

Senior Creative Media Manager | Climate Nexus

1140 Connecticut Av NW Suite 609

Washington DC 20036

646.559.5868

Hot News | Facebook | Twitter

From: <cdp@groups.b-team.org> on behalf of Philip Newell <pnewell@climatenexus.org>
Reply-To: Philip Newell <pnewell@climatenexus.org>
Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 11:48 AM
To: "cdp@groups.b-team.org" <cdp@groups.b-team.org>
Subject: [cdp] Florence/climate science talking points

Hi all,

Our Climate Signals page explains the various connections between hurricanes and climate change. We’ll keep it updated as the storm makes landfall over the next few days, and follow us @climatesignals on twitter for the latest content.

We also have a general hurricanes and climate video explainer, a 1-minute social sharable, a 3-point infographic on how storm surge, rainfall and windspeed are amplified by climate change, and a graph showing how sea temperatures and hurricane power are closely linked.

Here are some science-based talking points about Hurricane Florence, feel free to add your own political angles:

Unusually warm seas are fueling Florence- up to 4˚F warmer than the baseline average from 1961-1990.

Accumulated Cyclone Energy in the Northern Hemisphere for the season through September 10 stood at its 3rd highest value on record (since 1970): trailing only the 2004 and 2015.

As Florence makes landfall, it is forecast to slow its forward progress, stalling in place, much like Hurricane Harvey. For Florence this may lead to rainfall totals approaching two feet, greatly elevating the flood risk. The projected stalling is consistent with a global trend of increasing stalling by tropical cyclones, a trend attributed to the impact of climate change on steering patterns in the jet stream.

One of the clearest and most devastating impacts of climate change has been the dramatic amplification of damage done by hurricanes/tropical cyclones.

Sea level rise to date has elevated storm surge, increasing the reach of coastal flooding driven by hurricanes, especially along low-lying areas. As a result, the damages done by Superstorm Sandy extended another 27 square miles and added over $2 billion in damages.

Warming seas and a wetter atmosphere are supercharging the deluge delivered by tropical cyclones, increasing flood risk. Five different attribution studies documented the increase in rainfall dumped by Hurricane Harvey due to global warming, with as much as 38 percent of Harvey’s rainfall directly attributable to climate change.

Global warming is also directly driving tropical cyclone activity globally. The fingerprint of climate change has been documented in tropical cyclone activity in the Northwest Pacific (e.g. Japan and Philippines) and in the Central Pacific (e.g Hawaii). In the Atlantic, the U.S. National Climate Assessment reports that human factors have "contributed to the observed increase in hurricane activity since the 1970s.”