Lack Of Interest In Hurricane Patricia?

[Hypognosis]

Solar minimum us approaching and I was anticipating a harsh winter, in the UK but, on the other side of the world it is an El Niño year and they had "the blob" - unusually warm waters, off the US west coast.

Now comes what is ratest as the highest windspeed Pacific hurricane on record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-34614864

So, why the lack of interest, among Answerbankers?

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-34625357

Looks as if it hasn't caused as much damage as previously feared, but its still the strongest storm to have occurred in the Americas, at least according to the Beeb.

I heard on the radio today that Patricia could cause the cancellation of the American Grand Prix though.

[Zacs-Master]

It's only a cat2 storm now.

[Old_Geezer]

Few visiting here live over there ?

And as others have mentioned, it becomes big news when there is damage and injury which, thankfully, there hasn't been.

[anotheoldgit]

And we were told last spring that we were in for a very hot summer, and advised us to get our barbecues out.

And look what we got?

[ToraToraTora]

as trigger said it's Al Pacino!

[wiltsman]

Everyone is worried about Talk Talk ... lol.

[douglas9401]

Nobody wants to trigger a category 5 gibberfest about global warming?

[Hypognosis]

@mikey4444 & Zacsmaster

Yes, it snuck ashore between two population centres and petered out over land. Mexico City is or was the world's most populous but is tucked safely inland. If nobody died, perhaps I should have waited until it was over and then posted in R&S section.

@Old_Geezer

//Few visiting here live over there ?//

Well my question was meant to be a pointy stick. Answerbank's empathy task force were - it *seemed* - mysteriously unfazed by 200mph winds because it was only going to impact on Mexicans and a few American tourists.

@AOG, T3, wiltsman

Thanks for your replies.

@douglas9401

I liked the word "gibberfest" so much, you get Best Answer.

I don't think any forecaster is in any position to say a specific weather event is attributable to climate change, nor will they be for any future event. "Climate" has been given a specific meaning - a 30-year rolling average of weather data.

If the pre-1985 years were cooler than at present then their removal and replacement by fresh data (in the rolling average) might, in fact, flatten the rising trend.

But, on the face of it, new peak windspeeds are being achieved. I know it is El Niño year and that the eastern Pacific is doing its warming up thing but I don't have the luxury of actual data telling me what fraction of a degree C hotter than previous El Niños this year's one is.

So it is not possible to make a simple statement such as "this many extra 0.1s of a degree C means this many extra mph in peak hurricane wind speeds". That's all I want to know, at this stage.

[douglas9401]

Cheers, Hypognosis. :-)