Even before Hurricane Helene struck the Florida coast with Category 4 winds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (better known as NOAA) and its subsidiaries – the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center – were already busy saving lives.
Local emergency officials, echoing NOAA’s dire forecasts, spurred mass evacuations on the Gulf Coast and warned of 20-foot storm surges that may not be “survivable.” The sudden strengthening of this hurricane, fed by Gulf waters made warmer by climate change...