Alarming Facts about Hurricane Felix

Chris Mooney makes a list. Last year this fine reporter and blogger sharply criticized Time magazine for overstating reasons why we should be "very worried" about global warming driving more powerful storms and hurricanes: now he seems to have changed his tune.

Reckless prediction: He wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last.

Here’s Chris on this year’s hurricane season:

"Here’s some data I recently compiled. First, concerning Hurricane Felix:

* After not having once since Andrew in 1992, we are now
expected to see two Category 5 Atlantic basin hurricane landfalls in
the space of 2 weeks.

* Hurricane Felix reached Category 5 on September 2, just 13 days after Hurricane Dean reached it on August 20.

* Both hurricanes are stronger than anything seen in the Pacific
this year, even though Pacific typhoons are generally more frequent and
powerful than Atlantic hurricanes.

* 11 am ET, Sunday Sept 2: Felix was at 90 knot maximum sustained winds. By 8 pm ET, Sunday Sept 2, maximum sustained winds were 145 knots, for an increase of 55 knots in 9 hours.

The staggering facts also continue when it comes to the Atlantic in general:

* There have now been 8 Category 5 hurricanes in the past 5 years (Isabel, Ivan, Emily, Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Dean, Felix)

* There have been two Category 5s this year; only three other seasons have had more than one (1960, 1961, 2005). (Thanks, Llewelly.)

* There have been 8 Category 5 hurricanes so far in the 2000s; no
other decade has had so many. The closest runner up is the 1960s with 6
(Donna, Ethel, Carla, Hattie, Beulah, Camille).

* For the 2007 Atlantic Season, all hurricanes so far have been Category 5 hurricanes.

Are we worried yet?"