Currently in Philadelphia — October 11, 2023: Clear, crisp, sunny

Plus, Hurricane Lidia makes landfall near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The weather, currently.

Clear, crisp, sunny, etc.

Once again, it seems the powers that be have saved the best weather for the middle of the work week. I’m trying not to take it personally. Today will be sunnier than the past few days, with cloud cover dipping down to less than 5%. Things will also warm up a bit, reaching a high of 68˚F. Humidity will be low, and the breezes today should be noticeable but not harsh (around 8mph). All in all, it’s looking like the perfect weather for me to sit at my desk all day and wish I was outside.

— Abe Musselman

What you need to know, currently.

Lidia is the third-strongest hurricane in history to make landfall on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

Lidia joins a long list of hurricanes that have rapidly intensified in the hours right before landfall in recent years, going from a Category 1 to a Category 4 before slamming into the coastline near Puerto Vallarta.

Meteorologist Bob Henson explains: “Lidia's top sustained winds increased more than predicted, and in spectacular fashion—from 70 mph to 140 mph in the 24 hours before it made landfall. A growing body of research is finding links between rapid intensification and human-caused climate change.”

Near-shore ocean temperatures are warming, and when hurricanes like Lidia intensify in the few hours before landfall, it reduces the time that authorities and residents have to respond and prepare. It’s another one of those sinister ways that climate change is making extreme weather worse.

What you can do, currently.

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