4/21/15: EXTREME WEATHER IN THE U.S.

This week we are exploring extreme weather events and/or cyclones. In today's figure from weatherunderground you can see how in the States there are a few events/advisories happening at the same time, not uncommon.

Knowing your weather patterns matters. As the climate changes, so will the weather. As an example, 2014 was the warmest year on modern record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), working independently. 

Global patterns like more droughts, more heavy downpours, heat waves, etc. can be linked to extreme weather events (NOAA). NOAA staff says: “The point here is that these events are causing up to billions of dollars of damage. As we see the increasing trends in these metrological and hydrological extremes, as a society we really need to think about how we are going to manage the risk, how we’re going to adapt to these changes in extremes.”

NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center provides a variety of information detailing all these extreme weather events. Their yearly maps of U.S. Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters are very informative (figure). 

The center says that in 2014, there were 8 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. These events included a drought event, a flooding event, 5 severe storm events, and a winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 53 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. Further cost data and figures on individual events in 2014 will be announced in mid-2015.

Interesting times…