‘Media fail’: Meteorologist Dumps Cold Water On CNN’s Hurricane Idalia-Fueled Climate Hysteria

Meteorologist Ryan Maue dumped cold water on CNN’s climate hysteria amid Hurricane Idalia’s brutal assault on Florida’s Gulf Coast early on Wednesday morning.

Maue was responding to a report from CNN’s Bill Weir, who claimed that the continued use of fossil fuels was to blame for the increasing intensity of major storms, and argued that states like Florida — where parts of the economy are dependent on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico — would just have to learn to balance financial interests with climate mitigation efforts.

WATCH:

“That’s the biggest sort of trillion dollar question about how you adapt communities like this to the world that we’re already now living in, at the same time trying to mitigate further — more wicked storms down the road with more fossil fuel pollution,” Weir began, noting that President Joe Biden’s administration was planning to open up the Gulf to more oil and gas lease sales.

“The cost of [using fossil fuels] is becoming bigger with every storm. Science has been warning about this for a very long time, in many ways it has been predicted. It is the speed that we’re seeing these changes that has taken most folks by surprise,” he continued.

Maue pushed back, however, saying that while Idalia was certainly a force to be reckoned with, a hurricane with winds of that strength was not unprecedented in that area.

“CNN went full ‘climate crisis’ with their top climate expert Dr. Bill Weir so early in the morning with Idalia. Except, the landfall of Idalia is only strongest along coastal area since 1896 Cedar Keys hurricane (125 mph) 125-years ago, well prior to modern fossil fuel usage,” he said.

Maue also shared a graphic with additional details, adding, “1896 Cedar Keys hurricane also made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend with 125 mph winds[.] Climate context: this is a 0 mph landfall maximum wind increase from 1896-2023 or 0 mph/century for the worst 2 storms.”

Maue also responded to critics who argued that no one could ignore just how rapidly Idalia had gained strength — and attributing that to climate change — saying, “How much stronger was Idalia made because of climate change? Why didn’t Idalia rapidly intensify during the 3 days it sat over the NW Caribbean? Did someone forget to push a button or turn a knob?”

BIDEN: "I don't think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. Just look around." pic.twitter.com/crkT4babR4

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 30, 2023