Ernie's Here

The remnants of Hurricane Ernesto have been passing over the DC area since last night, and it's made for the wettest day we've had in almost two months. Ernie also seems kinda cold for a tropical weather system; the high temperature at my nearby weatherbug station never made it above 64 (that's 17.8 for you Celsius people). And while it's certainly been breezy, the wind never actually became overwhelming.

Meanwhile, respected hurricane forecaster William Gray has again reduced his prediction for Atlantic hurricanes to only five. That compares with his initial forecast last spring of seven. If the new figures hold, that will make the 2006 season's activity slightly below average.

Some people will no doubt seize on this as further proof that global warming is hogwash. But as I've said before, the thing about global warming is that it's global. As such, it's necessary to look beyond the confines of your own backyard's weather conditions.

For example: While the Atlantic may be calm, the Pacific has certainly not been. Earlier this week, a typhoon with wind gusts of 185 mph forced the evacuation of Wake Island, located between Hawaii and Guam. And southern China has been battered by an unusually heavy typhoon season that has left thousands dead or missing.

On the other hand, deadly weather in China has nothing to do with gasoline prices or JonBenet Ramsey, so why should CNN devote any coverage to it?