By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: October 11, 2024 ~ The size, wind speed intensity, and devastating water impacts of hurricanes originating from the record hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico have sent a wake up call to local and state officials up and down the East Coast of the United States as well as to federal government officials engaged in disaster relief. Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday night, September 26, as a Category 4 hurricane near Perry, Florida. It then proceeded to unleash its wrath northward, plowing through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Decimated areas in Western North Carolina – cities and towns such as Asheville, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Fairview, Black Mountain and Swannanoa – are 485 miles north of where Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida. Unprecedented levels of rainfall from Hurricane Helene turned Western North Carolina rivers into raging torrents of water that … Continue reading Hurricanes Helene and Milton Send Climate Change Wakeup Call as Gulf of Mexico Water Breaks Heat Records