Every morning when not rushing off, I turn on the Weather Channel. I am intrigued by the weather especially from growing up on a farm and learning how our livelihood depended on optimal weather conditions. I turn the TV on so I can see what the weather is like at the homes of my friends and family in places such as Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, California, Texas, and North Carolina.
Climate change is making my fascination for weather greater. People are experiencing more fierce and frequent major weather events these days no matter where they live.
Growing up in Iowa, the main worry was tornadoes and hailstorms. Even though my parents were wary, they made sure us kids were safe by having a plan for going to the basement in the event of bad storms. I ran down there far more often than needed, but it made me feel better even though I worried about the rest of the family that was not necessarily joining me.
An anomaly of Iowa was the derecho that hit in 2020. Most people had never heard of such phenomena before that severe windstorm happened. I am glad I didn’t worry about that growing up.
North Carolina was notorious for hurricanes. I didn’t live on the coast, but I experienced the effects of hurricanes as they came inland with the dousing rain and intense winds. I will not forget the night that Hurricane Fran roared through the Raleigh-Durham area. I had never experienced such unrelenting winds.
When I moved to Colorado, my concerns with hurricanes and tornados were over. However, I had not considered the growing potential for forest fires year around. Mostly the rain is never cursed because it mitigates fire danger. Fires used to occur only in the fall, but they are possible any time.
Chances of experiencing the catastrophic weather events that now occur has changed. According to the US Geological Survey, a 100-year flood does not mean it happens only once in 100 years but that there is a 1 in 100 chance of an event of this magnitude occurring during any given year. The probability is increasing.
Scientists have proven these natural disasters are exacerbated by human-caused climate change. The events should more aptly be named climate disasters. The seven warmest years in the 1880-2020 records have all occurred since 2014 and these global temperature changes are creating extreme and frequent severe weather.
Although nature creates these climate disasters, nature can also heal the earth. I must live with daily weather, but to prevent climate disasters is a daunting challenge. It will take individuals, government entities, and citizens of the world caring enough to address the changing climate to mitigate dramatic weather events into the future.