No, Hurricanes Are Not "Becoming More Intense"

I would have thought The Wall Street Journal would know better. 

Since this past week's focus has been on Florida, it is very easy to see the "more intense" is simply untrue. HURDAT = NOAA's hurricane database. 

There is little doubt Idalia underperformed compared to its forecast winds.

What about the rest of the world? The "gold standard" metric is the peer-reviewed "ACE Index" (Accumulated Cyclone Energy Index). We can reliably measure it back to the 70's when we first had worldwide weather satellite coverage. There is absolutely no upward trend. 

If the above aren't enough, consider this information from Dr. Phil Klotzbach.

For only the 7th year on record, the Atlantic has 2 hurricanes with 105+ mph winds simultaneously during August (#Franklin and #Idalia). Other years are: 1886, 1893, 1950, 1969, 1998, and 1999.

This is the opposite of what would be expected if global warming was making hurricanes more intense. 

No amount of words changes this factual information. 

As to the future, who knows? But, given that for at least 18 years more intense hurricanes "are the new normal," and it hasn't panned out, I don't see what will cause hurricanes to become more intense going forward. 

Global warming is a serious issue that deserves serious consideration and solutions -- as opposed to unquestioned press releases from advocacy groups (that, along with research organizations, I refer to as Big Climate). I so wish the media would stop the nonsense.