Continued chaos
The weather across much of our planet continues to cause death and destruction.
Every day seems to bring news of yet another weather disaster. As I write this Vermont is being devastated by flooding that they have not seen in 100 years. The capital city of Montpelier is under water from over 8 inches of rain in just a few hours. The city is closed and more rain is expected.
In the south and southwest it’s the heat and it’s been the heat for weeks and it appears like it will be the heat for most of the summer as the forecasted El Nino weather pattern has taken hold and promises more misery for much of the planet.
Today was 115 degrees in Phoenix, their 14th day in a row of temperatures above 110. El Paso has had 30 days above 100. In past decades, many people have actually left many northern cities to move to the sun-belt and now they must endure these brutal temperatures.
Yes, it’s always hot in the south and the old refrain has always been that it’s a dry heat. It may be dry but when the early morning low is in the 90s and afternoons above 110, I can’t imagine it’s much fun.
To our north the fires in Canada continue to burn after record-breaking spring heat and drought. The smoke from those fires continues to plague many parts of the United States, including Southwestern Pennsylvania when the winds in our area shift to the north or northwest. This past week our winds shifted direction and brought the Uniontown area summer-like temperatures from the south and these southerly winds chased the smoke back into Canada.
Scientists are concerned about the heat and the sudden surge in heat-related fatalities. Last year the heat killed some 25,000 people across Europe, and earth is now very close to the tipping point of 2.7 degrees.
We are simply getting close to disaster mode and yet we still have those who deny what is occurring all across our planet. Simply put, I trust the scientists over the big money that cares not about how many die or how many billion dollar disasters are coming.
With the mild winter, the Atlantic Ocean is warming fast and we now know that warmer waters are the fuel for more storms. It is interesting to note that real estate is still selling at a fast clip in Florida, however some are beginning to question the sanity of moving into harm’s way. Homeowners Insurance is difficult to obtain in places like Florida and California and premiums have risen sharply in the past year or so.
Folks have also started to consider moving as the seas continue to rise and the fires continue to burn. This should be an interesting hurricane season and may set the stage for some sanity to return to the Florida real estate markets.
Here across Southwestern Pennsylvania we did have a mini-drought in May and June; however recent rains have the corn crops growing and at this point we should see a good harvest.
In Uniontown, 100 degree weather occurs only once every 10 years and our all-time record high temperature was 103 set back on July 2nd, 1988. We usually see 90 degrees or better on 11 days each summer. This, too, is a slight increase from the old average of nine days.
Looking ahead, we should see temperatures in the 80s next week and then it will turn a bit cooler near the end of July. Rainfall is expected to be normal to just a bit above during this period.
We are fortunate to live in an area that will be less impacted by the changing climate than much of the world.