Terms like “100 year x” have basis in the science: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/w...center_objects
Like a lot of highly complex topics, they may often be misinterpreted or misunderstood by commentators and the average member of the public.
I really thought if there was anything in the history of DBR we might all agree on, it would be that we all hate 2020.
My main memory of 2020 is
tre.jpg
I think most of the time the claims are literally true; it's up to the viewer to discern whether the superlative is relevant, and how.
Back in 1986 Duke basketball went 37-2 before falling to Louisville in the title game. At that time, no other team had won so many games in a season. So at the University Store in the Bryan Center, rather than NCAA Champs t-shirts (after going 1-1 on the Final Four weekend, rather than 2-0), we had a t-shirt celebrating "the winningest team in history". (college, NCAA Div I, men, basketball, one season, etc).
So, literally true, as far as those qualifiers go. Of course we'd have rather had the NCAA title and that 38th win could have been a nice afterthought.
In short, getting back to weather, they're selling the sizzle, not the steak. With Hurricane Laura, if Professor Wikipedia is to be believed, it's (tied for) the strongest to make landfall in LA, measured by sustained winds. Is that the most relevant thing? IDK, but since it beats out Katrina on that measure, I have to wonder. Maybe sustained winds aren't everything. Just like most wins in a season.
This was the strongest hurricane to landfall in Louisiana since 1856. Pooh pooh that if it makes you feel good, but that's the fact.
Just another reason...
A 194-year-old apple tree, the matriarch of the Northwest apple industry, has died
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/us/ol...=pocket-newtab