MORNING HEADLINES | El Niño, the name given to powerful shifts in Pacific Ocean winds and water temperatures, is on its way and may have a local impact eventually. Historians and meteorologists are looking back to the weather phenomenon’s centuries of epic droughts, heat waves and more.
In general, El Niño makes for wetter conditions in parts of the Americas while suppressing the Atlantic hurricane season. Across the globe, the phenomenon raises the risk of dryness in southern Asia, Australia and southern Africa.
Researchers warn that the coming El Niño could be one of the strongest on record. If forecasts are accurate, its consequences could be difficult to predict, as agriculture is more sophisticated than ever. Nobody is predicting the same large-scale famine that El Niño historically has brought.
Experts say, however, an El Niño would add pressure to an already precarious global system, particularly stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, forecasters expect fewer hurricanes this year, with only eight to 14 named storms predicted. A typical Atlantic season has at least 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes, and of those, three major hurricanes.
In its initial outlook released Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there is a 55% chance of a below-normal hurricane season, with only 10% odds of the year finishing with above-normal activity.
In 2004, which featured El Niño conditions, the Atlantic produced 15 named storms, with five cyclones hitting Florida in six weeks, reminding forecasters to not relax just yet.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with roughly 97% of all tropical cyclone activity taking place between those dates.
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In today’s issue of the Charleston City Paper
CP OPINION: Vote June 9 in South Carolina primary, despite legislature’s pesky meddling. “Unfortunately for South Carolina primary voters on June 9, the S.C. General Assembly has mucked up the voting process by fiddling with congressional district lines. Its unprecedented mid-decade redistricting process to gain a racist political advantage in U.S. House seats is sowing confusion in more ways than one.”
- Beasley: S.C. deserves better than partisan redistricting games
- CP CARTOON: Stegelin: I don’t even think about your financial situation
- CP CARTOON: Ariail: They call it ‘redistricting’
CP COVER STORY: Spoleto Festival USA to let freedom ring, sing, leap. If there is one thing that Mena Mark Hanna wants to impress upon you right now, it’s that the arts are no bauble.
CP NEWS: Cogswell backs alliance of city, developer, housing authority. Charleston Mayor William Cogswell has proposed a partnership between the city, its housing authority and an Atlanta developer to build new mixed-income housing on the city’s Eastside.
CP NEWS: Charleston moves forward on e-bike rules, sea wall project. Charleston City Council members this month unanimously voted to approve changes to the city’s rules governing electric bicycles due to their growing popularity and surge of complaints.
CP FOOD: Charleston eateries cash in on nostalgia. Between the changing seasons and the uncertain state of the world, it’s no surprise that people are seeking relief in comforts from the past. As a result, retro-inspired products have seen an uptick in consumer interest.
CP MUSIC: Beyond Spoleto: 6 non-festival shows around town. Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto fill Charleston every season with an enormous range of live music, from jazz and folk to opera and chamber performances. But the city’s music calendar doesn’t stop there.
In other recent headlines
Charleston’s Colbert went out on his own terms in national series finale. The series finale of “The Late Show” aired on Thursday, in a love fest largely devoid of swipes at CBS, which announced the cancellation last year, citing financial reasons which many did not believe.
- Colbert wraps ‘Late Show’ with nods to S.C., both obvious and covert
- Colbert thanks staff, viewers for 11 years of laughs in final episode
Sullivan’s Island review of fire department will inspect training standards, incident responses. An audit of the island’s fire department will begin as soon as this summer after a structure fire raised questions about the agency’s response.
Charleston County sponsors free pet adoptions as shelters reach new overcrowding levels. A new Charleston County-sponsored initiative will cover adoption costs at a local Pet Helpers through June 30. The partnership started as animal shelters reached a critical level for overcrowding.
Kiawah researchers keeping a close eye on the ‘jewel of the marsh’. For more than 40 years, researchers have been trekking though Kiawah Island’s creeks in search of diamondback terrapins. The longest running survey of its kind has documented significant declines in the turtle’s population.
Civil rights groups, activists rally outside Statehouse to protest redistricting proposal. A rally in opposition of potential congressional redistricting met outside the Statehouse in Columbia Thursday afternoon as debate on the map and redraw of the state’s seven congressional districts continued to play out.
- S.C. Senate wants redistricting debate finished before early polls open
- Early voting for S.C.’s primary opens May 26
- Bill redrawing S.C. congressional voting lines advances in Senate as cost estimates double
- Lowcountry leaders call rush to redistrict unfair for voters
Suspect ‘purposely waited’ to shoot victim outside Gilroy’s Pizza Pub on King Street, records allege. Andre Ramon Nesbit purposefully waited on King Street, where he fatally shot a man who had accidentally brushed against him inside of Gilroy’s Pizza Pub, arrest warrants allege.
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