ACE in August 30 % Higher Than Normal

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So, check this out.

FOUR TROPICAL STORMS FORMED IN AUGUST...ONE OF WHICH REACHED MAJOR HURRICANE STATUS.

Well, OK. Fine. That sounds like a lot, but is it more than average?

THE LONG-TERM AVERAGE FOR AUGUST IS ABOUT 4
TROPICAL STORMS...2 HURRICANES...AND 1 MAJOR HURRICANE.

Oh, OK. So, despite the climate change and all, cyclone activity is down? We should have had another hurricane. That's good, right? Does this mean Kerry Emanuel is correct?

IN TERMS OF ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY...ACE...WHICH MEASURES THE COMBINED STRENGTH AND DURATION OF TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES...AUGUST WAS ABOUT 30 PERCENT ABOVE THE LONG-TERM MEAN...PRIMARILY DUE TO HURRICANE BILL.

Well, to be fair, Dr. Emanuel has given up his conviction that climate change has nothing to do with hurricanes, which should make seeing him Tuesday night less contentious. But, the promise wasn't really more hurricanes. It was more hurricanes that did an insane amount of damage. So, ACE is up 30 per cent. I know the tendency is to simply count, so I wanted to bring that out.

The hurricanes in 2009 have apparently given up striking places we don't care about, like Mexico and the Confederacy, and barreling straight for the Union States, uncomfortably close to Manhattan. Sorry, Brooklyn. Danny canceled a boat ride I should have been on. That's not a good trend, either.