This is a screen capture from a site I like to visit, earth.nullschool.net. This is an animated map of current global wind, weather, and ocean conditions. Looking at the image, two storms pop out.
The one in the Pacific (on the left) is the Bering Strait Superstorm currently lashing the Aleutians and heading towards Alaska with max current speeds of 65 km/hr. This superstorm is
notable because it represents one of the lowest sea-level barometric pressures ever observed on Earth outside of tropical cyclones and tornadoes. At 920 millibars, it is on par with Katrina.
At the same time, a major storm is brewing in the Northern Atlantic. This has current
maximum sustained speeds of 75 km/hr. It has time before it hits land, so I expect it will increase in speed and intensity. Current low pressure readings are at 980 976 millibars . (edit: It has dropped since I published this, and will likely continue to drop as it gathers strength) This puts it squarely in the range of a Category 1 hurricane, on par with Barbara (2013).
Here's why this is notable....
Of immediate interest, the Bering Strait Superstorm will push the polar vortex south -- dropping temperatures across the US later this week. So bundle up.
This direct consequence of warming at higher latitudes won't go unnoticed by the media as regional temperatures plunge. I won't be surprised if the feebs at FOX & Fiends point to the frigid temperatures as "proof" global warming is a hoax. Of course, that would miss the reason temperatures actually dropped -- a record breaking typhoon. But they get paid to miss the point on a regular basis.
However, there is another "rare" event that recently occurred. It is notable because this "rare" event has become increasingly common. It has gotten to the point that a new category of storm had to be officially recognized. It's called a Medicane. One just recently tore through the Mediterranean, wiping across Malta and Sicily. Baromteric pressures got as low as 978 millibars and gusts hit a high of 96 miles/hr. Like the storm in the Bering Strait, this storm represented a tropical cyclone -- outside of the tropics.
This means that this week we have three major cyclonic storms outside of latitudes where such activity is normally seen, at a time of year when these storms are typically not seen.
Now I realize people like Inhofe will look out the window in Oklahoma and, noting the unseasonally early frost on the ground, declare global warming is a hoax! But that is what we can expect from a guy who famously has zero grasp of science.