Recent Weather Events: Increased Intensities, Shifting Patterns
With so many intense weather events in the recent past it might be hard to deny that global warming or climate change is not only occurring, but beginning to have more significant impacts across the globe.
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Recent weather events show increased intensities in tropical cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons), rainfall, snow, and ice storms subjecting areas to severe or intense weather patterns that are more uncharacteristic than in times past.
Shifting precipitation patterns are inundating some areas with water, and leaving others parched. Many of these storms and shifting weather patterns have caused unprecedented damages, including the recent torrential rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Texas, and a few years ago, Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey.
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Changing Weather Patterns
[link url=”http://ktla.com/2015/12/13/unseasonbly-warm-temps-expected-to-break-records-across-much-of-us/” title=”Record highs across the nation since the beginning of December“] are being attributed to El Niño, which also appears to be intensifying, another indication that climate change is happening. El Niño is also being credited with [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln-el-nino-wet-storms-20151210-story.html” title=”dumping the torrential rains in the Pacific Northwest“].
In [link url=”http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ongoing-coverage-of-historic-drought-in-us” title=”2011-2012, lack of precipitation caused a severe drought across the Midwestern states“], but conditions improved near the end of 2013. Unfortunately, as conditions improved in the Midwest, the western portion of the nation entered its own severe drought that is still ongoing today. Water rationing is in affect for the entire [link url=”http://abc7.com/news/mandatory-water-restrictions-in-effect-across-california/760026/” title=”State of California”] to help combat the continuing drought.
Intensified Storms
A look at the recent swath of storms and their central pressures show some of the lowest ever seen or recorded. The central pressure indicates the strength or power of a storm at its peak intensity. Hurricane Patricia, which made landfall near Cuixmala, Mexico, had a [link url=”http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-patricia-mexico-coast” title=”barometric reading of 25.96 inches, or 879 millibars“] – the lowest ever recorded in a Western Hemisphere storm.
Then there was the recent Bering Sea storm, although not a tropical cyclone because these maritime storms form differently, it had a [link url=”http://www.weather.com/news/weather/news/aleutian-storm-alaska-bering-sea-record” title=”central pressure reading of 27.73 inches or 938.9 millibars“]. Interestingly enough, gusts from this storm exceeded 100 mph for over 5 hours.
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In looking at these current trends, it is [link url=”https://amuedge.com/its-a-category-1-right/” title=”not hard to surmise that overall damage is also likely to rise significantly“], meaning the economic costs are going to rise exponentially. Preparedness is key, but looking ahead is essential to determine what actions are needed now to avoid future losses. As emergency management professionals, we are obligated to help build community resilience and protect populations. Whatever the term, global warming or climate change, it looks like it is here ~ [link url=”http://edmdigest.com/adaptation/the-local-climate-change/” title=”are you prepared“]?
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