La Nina Could Spark Active Hurricane Season As Trump Set To Drain FEMA Funds

At the start of the 2020 hurricane season, we said: this “season could be above average, with 13 to 19 named storms.” 

Already 40% through the season, nine storms have been named, with Tropical Depression Eleven could be the next one named on Thursday. 

Bloomberg reports the hurricane season is about to go “from bad to worse with La Nina odds up.”

The odds the equatorial Pacific will remain neutral, or even spin up a La Nina, have risen in the last month, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said. In either state, the weather patterns over the Pacific actually decrease hurricane-killing wind shear across the Atlantic, allowing more storms to form and strengthen. –Bloomberg

Odds for La Nina have increased to 60% from 54% a month ago for the September to November timeframe. 

There is a ~60% chance of La Niña development during Northern Hemisphere fall 2020 and continuing through winter 2020-21 (~55% chance). A #LaNina watch remains active. https://t.co/5zlzaYJ1Lp pic.twitter.com/Vglhy601Xq

— NWSCPC (@NWSCPC) August 13, 2020

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Colorado State University said as many as 25 storms could form this year, which could be the highest number since 2005, when 28 were recorded and Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city of New Orleans, unleashing $125 billion in damage along the Gulf Coast. 

With Increasing odds for a La Nina this fall, resulting in what could be a super active hurricane season. President Trump has redirected the use of funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief programs to pay tens of millions of unemployed, broke, and hungry Americans, devastated by the virus-induced recession. 

As the odds of La Niña influence continue to grow in the Atlantic Ocean, here’s a recap of U.S. hurricane landfall frequency per ENSO phase since 1871. pic.twitter.com/7mcwngG1lV

— Steve Bowen (@SteveBowenWx) June 30, 2020

But don’t worry about FEMA funds running out, the Trump administration is running record deficits and will have the Treasury issue bonds to fund the gap.