See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.
Despite media denials that “specific weather events” can be linked to overall climate patterns, that is exactly what several major news outlets have done in the wake of deadly floods in Texas.
MSNBC, Huffington Post, The Dallas Morning News and other media have suggested global warming played a role in the torrential rain and consequent, deadly flooding in Texas during Memorial Day weekend. A year earlier many were blaming Texas’ drought on global warming.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews made this link during Hardball With Chris Matthews May 26. He cited the National Climate Assessment, claiming that “climate change contributes to harsh climate conditions like the flooding in Texas and drought in California happening right now.”
He failed to admit that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report in December 2014 that said the opposite regarding global warming and droughts in California. The report instead attributed the drought primarily to a La Nina weather pattern.