Our region got hit pretty hard by Hurricane Lee. We didn't get wind but we got rain, lots and lots of rain. The basement of our rental house flooded but other than that we made it through okay. Unfortunately our neighbors to the Southeast were not so lucky.
Owego and Binghamton are about 45 minutes away from us and are very depressed areas economically. Cleaning this up is going to be a nightmare, I don't know where the money is going to come from.
Between this year's massive flooding in the Northeast, the fires and terrible drought in the Southwest, and the tornadoes of the Southeast (did I miss flooding in the mid-West?), I don't think anyone can deny that the weather we're having just ain't right. Climate change is happening WAY faster than it's supposed to and in my opinion it's time that we start thinking carefully about how this might be caused by our actions. And that's all I'll say about that.
I am glad you were okay, although a flooded basement could be better.
ReplyDeleteSome residents had to be rescued from flood waters in Trenton, NJ this week and a young woman caught in a flash flood in Princeton did not make it during Irene.
The extreme climate events are starting to add up.
Ugh, that's too sad. So far I haven't heard of any flood deaths in NY but that doesn't mean they haven't happened.
ReplyDeleteWe've had some torrential rains too but so far so good. Just lost two big trees that have to be cut up. The basement sounds like it will be a mess to clean up but if that's all then I'm sure you can deal with it.
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't waste the last 8 years with a certain administration burying it's head in the sand maybe we would be on the way to helping the environment. I wish more people would start paying attention.
I remember back in the '90's we were blaming El Nino for the weird weather. But the days of having weird weather every few years is long gone. The weather is SOOOOO different from 20, 30 years ago. Scary, actually. Where I am in Ontario, we used to count on May, June and July to be gorgeous and 25C, with August being the humid month. Not any more. Humidity and high temps hit us end of June.
ReplyDeleteGHM- I was thinking about you. I know you're East of us. Glad to know you weren't hit too bad. I agree with you about a certain administration, actually every administration since 2000...
ReplyDeleteWolfie- No kidding! Everybody says "Oh this is weather like my grandparents used to tell me about, it's nothing new." To them I want to say, "well your grandparents were smaller then, so of course everything looked bigger!"
Oh no! I'm glad you guys made it through relatively well. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI was just reading my favorite Northwest weather blog that's written by a Univ. of WA meteorology prof (Dr. Cliff Mass). They are predicting another La Nina year, which means colder and wetter winter weather for us. Last year we had such terrible wind/snow that we had a fence failure (the snow completely covered one side of our pasture fence). I'm dreading my commute to work already.
ReplyDeleteI've read that those of us here in the NW will actually be more protected from some of the worst of climate change (heat and drought) which have certainly affected other parts of the country the past couple of years. But after living through some of the terrible winter windstorms we've had up here (much worse than weather I knew growing up in Denver) I'm not so sure.
This year we never had our normal summer heat, and orchardists up who grow fruit are worried that we will lose our ability to grow those things here. I have yet to have a really good locally-grown watermelon this year--without the heat, they just don't seem to sugar up like they're supposed to.
Thanks, Frizzle!
ReplyDeleteFetlock- I've read and felt that about the Northeast too, that we'll be sheltered from the worst of it. But then last week happened...
Lots of people don't know that many of the fruits we enjoy need to have a hot, dry season to accumulate the sugars that make them taste good. I bet the wine growers out your way are sweating bullets right now.
Gradual climate change is normal, this super-fast climate change is not.
Good grief, you guys are getting it bad across the pond right now. Never, ever will I moan about the Scottish weather again.
ReplyDeleteHey, you never know how Scottish weather might change. I hope it doesn't though.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to bite my tongue on the climate change part of this topic, for I appear to be the minority, but I'm glad you made it through without too much trouble. :)
ReplyDeleteEveryone is entitled to their own interpretation, this just happens to be mine. I know not everyone agrees with me and I don't expect them to. Not everyone agrees with what I've learned about the bars either ;)
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