Wilma....another lesson

Well it's official, Hurricane Wilma most intense on record

It's been confirmed: Hurricane Wilma, with a pressure of 882 mb, is the most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. Wilma, after undergoing a stunning intensification overnight, is now a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane packing sustained winds of 175 mph. The eye of the violent storm continues to follow a wobbling WNW track through the western Caribbean with a turn toward the NW expected during the next 24 hours.

And keep in mind it may have set a record for speed of intensification as well; tropical depression to cat 5 storm in less than 48 hours.

I'm not going to get into the causes of global warming here but can there be any doubt that the warm water in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are responsible for this record hurricane season? As any of you know who read these virtual pages I think it's too late to stop global warming and time to decide how are are going to live with it.

Most Intense Atlantic Storm on Record Labeled 'Potentially Catastrophic' by Hurricane Center

The latest advisory from the hurricane center in Miami called Wilma a "potentially catastrophic" hurricane, now located about 325 miles southeast of the Mexican beach resort of Cozumel. Forecasters said that once the storm passes Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and enters the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, some "weakening should begin."

But they warned that even if it weakens, Wilma remains a very dangerous hurricane.

"Even as a Category 2, 3 or 4 hurricane, [Wilma] can cause tremendous damage and loss of life if we're not careful," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami at a news conference today. "If this were the only hurricane of the season, it would be the event of the year."

Mayfield said the biggest concern for the United States is for Florida's Gulf coast and the Florida Keys. On the heavily populated east coast of Florida, he predicted Wilma would mostly be a wind-and-rain event. He said that if the storm stayed on its current path, it could also quickly move up and into New England.

Even before Katrina made landfall I wrote the following.

Most of the Florida peninsula is less than 25 feet above sea level. Long before sea level actually rises enough to cover the peninsula strong hurricanes will make it uninhabitable. Warm water is what feeds hurricanes and global warming is first seen in the water.
Global Warming and Hurricanes

The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although we cannot say at present whether more or fewer hurricane will occur in the future with global warming, the hurricanes that do occur near the end of the 21st century are expected to be stronger and have significantly more intense rainfall than under present day climate conditions. This expectation is based on an anticipated enhancement of energy available to the storms due to higher tropical sea surface temperatures.

And it won't be just Florida.
Hurricane Risk to New Orleans

"The hurricane is spinning counter-clockwise, it's now got a wall of water in front of it some 30 to 40 feet high, as it approaches the levees that surround the city, it tops those levees," describes Maestri. "The water comes over the top - and first the communities on the west side of the Mississippi river go under. Now Lake Ponchetrain which is on the eastern side of the community now that water from Lake Ponchetrain is now pushed on the population that is fleeing from the western side, and everybody's caught in the middle. The bowl now completely fills and we've got the entire community under water, some 20 to 30 feet under water."

It is estimated that 20 to 100 thousand people would die. New Orleans would not be rebuilt.

It is time to start thinking about how we are going to adjust to the inevitable global warming instead of talking about halting it. Millions of people are living where they won't be able to live much longer. And it's not just the Gulf of Mexico. The drought in the desert southwest will only get worse. The gulf stream will weaken if not stop altogether making much of Europe and the northeastern United States much colder. The list goes on. Global warming is here and it's too late to stop it, assuming that was ever possible. Adapt or die, it's a choice we have to start thinking about now.

Both Jazz and I have suggested that New Orleans should not be rebuilt but do we need to look at much of the Gulf Coast and the Florida peninsula as well. Should we consider much of the area uninhabitable?

Update
I have more bad news on the global warming front over at Running Scared.