2012 May Rank As 2nd Most Disastrous Year Since 1980
Disaster loss data can reflect the frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather and climate events, but socioeconomic factors, such as population growth and coastal development, for example, also influence the data.… Read More
Drought Still Afflicting Nearly 60 Percent of the U.S.
The total land area in drought over the continental U.S. has receded slightly, according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, but more than half of the country is still plagued, to some degree, by the dry spell of historic proportions that began last spring. As of November 6, a little more than a week after Hurricane Sandy dropped … Read More
Downpours From Sandy Fail to Ease Drought in U.S.
Despite the torrential rains, and in some cases heavy snows, dumped on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states by Hurricane Sandy, the drought that has gripped much of the nation since last spring continues to plague the Lower 48 States, according to the latest report of the U.S. Drought Monitor. As of October 30, the entire continental U.S. west … Read More
Powerful Windstorm Winds Down in Plains, Midwest
The storm, which was centered across the Upper Midwest but has since drifted eastward and weakened, was a very powerful area of low pressure fueled by the strong temperature contrast between cooler and drier Canadian air masses and warmer and more humid air well to the south. These types of storms are actually rather common in the fall, when such l… Read More
Winter Wheat Crop Now Feeling Impact of U.S. Drought
Drought conditions did expand, though, in parts of the Upper Midwest and Plains states, such as in Minnesota and the Dakotas. According to the winter outlook that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released on Thursday, these regions are likely to see a drier and warmer than average winter… Read More
Demise of El Niño Throws a Wrench in Winter Outlook
Given that the majority of the Lower 48 states are still mired in severe drought conditions, with the latest drought monitor showing a continuous swath of drought stretching from California to Illinois, the forecast offers little hope for significant relief anytime soon. In fact, Mike Halpert, the deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center… Read More
Climate Change ‘Footprint’ Cited in Disaster Loss Trends
The new and most controversial finding in the report is that the upward trend in weather-related disaster losses is being driven in part by manmade global warming, since previous studies have shown that socioeconomic factors, such as population growth and urban sprawl, are behind this trend. At the same time, however, studies have increasingly fou… Read More
Globe Ties the Record for Warmest September
The last below-average September temperature was in 1976, when Gerald Ford was President, and the last below-average month for any month of the year occurred in February 1985, during the Reagan Administration.… Read More
