And now we have another unprecedented storm: Harvey. The lesson has to sink in sooner or later.
But a caution here. It will not do to peg everything that is even tangentially related to climate change on climate change. Many events can trace their origins to multiple sources, each contributing to some extent. Forest fires are an example. True, quite true, warmer winters protect pine beetles. Summer droughts kill or weaken trees. But.
But there are man-made forest-fire causes quite apart from changes in the climate. Logging practices matter. Fire prevention [which in the final analysis is fire prevention for the time being, with the eventual blaze just being that more violent] practices matter.
And blaming it all on climate change provides skeptics with something on which to seize. All our efforts to convince the wider public must be suffused with a scrupulous honesty. Always credit the other side of the case. Never stretch to make a point. We have enough unimpeachable evidence.