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The Center for American Progress reports
This year has been "anything but ordinary" according to the latest data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the first three months of 2018, the United States has seen three climate and weather disasters each resulting in more than $1 billion in damages.
Two of the four nor'easters to hit the central and eastern U.S. during a one month period resulted in record snowfall and more than a billion dollars in losses each. Millions were without power and hundreds of flights were grounded. Multiple deaths were reported across Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
In mid-March, a deadly storm also hit the Gulf Coast with reports of dangerous winds, hail, and tornadoes. At least three people died and 20 tornadoes were reported in Alabama.
"It has been quite some time since the U.S. has experienced multiple, billion-dollar winter storm events", said Adam Smith, the NOAA scientist who compiled the data.
All told, the January to March period of the past three years has had the highest frequency of billion-dollar disasters on record since 1980--with 2018 surpassed only by 2016 and 2017.
As Smith told ThinkProgress via email, not only is the number of billion-dollar winter storms experienced in the past few years increasing, but the cost of these winter storms are increasingly above average compared to the 1990s, when a series of damaging storms--including a 1997-98 ice storm that hit the northeast--crippled parts of the country.
[...] Like with summertime hurricanes, winter nor'easters start in the ocean. And with warmer waters, these storms become more intense. According to Accuweather, this year's series of devastating nor'easters spent more time forming over the ocean, giving them a chance to increase in strength by absorbing more of the warmer ocean temperatures.
Additionally, with higher sea levels come more devastating storm surges. Massachusetts, for example, was repeatedly hit with coastal flooding during this year's winter storms.
Related: Climate change dials down Atlantic Ocean heating system
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @06:52PM (7 children)
1. Lack of an easily identifiable local warming effect has made you into a jaded cynic ironically named Entropy.
2. You have no respect for the scientific process, where our understanding of how the world works changes as new data comes in.
3. You ignore "heat sinks" and other feedback processes that make climate change a slow and ongoing crisis.
4. You talk about "normal statistical variations". How about abnormal statistical variations?
5. Even oil companies acknowledge that climate change is a problem. Maybe you will catch up with them one day.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @07:13PM
*throws a snowball!*
Global warming has been disproven! Nobody can argue against the snowball! Bwahahaha!
:-)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Thursday April 12 2018, @07:33PM (2 children)
Oh, there's probably been a lot more behind it than just that particular lack.
"2. You have no respect for the scientific process, where our understanding of how the world works changes as new data comes in."
To the contrary, it sounds like he understands the scientific process, something we cannot say for those who proclaim their thesis with religious certainty and persecute those who fail to believe.
A priest who calls his deity "science" is still a priest, not a scientist.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @07:52PM (1 child)
More and more I wonder if you are a really advanced chatbot. The first proper AI but still too stupid for really basic reading comprehension.
If you're on the autistic spectrum maybe say so and people will cut you some slack. That is a phrase which means they won't criticize you for every mistake.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @08:10PM
I'm going to blame the SN stupid IP filters for that, I frequently have to copy/paste a comment within 15 seconds when on mobile and I'm not even using a VPN! I guess I didn't tap accurately on the copy button so it put the last thing from the clipboard.
My original point was that Arik and company are much more like the devout, avoiding all evidence and logic in favor of their own simplistic arguments. All because climate science is HARD and exact predictions near impossible. They swallowed propaganda and are now true believers, even when the oil companies are admitting the truth!!!! Wtf mate?
Hey I copy pasted correctly that time. Invalid form key buuulllshiiit.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 13 2018, @08:01AM (2 children)
And you haven't presented a reason to consider those processes. The fact that they are slow is an indication that they aren't strongly positive which is what is needed to justify urgent climate change mitigation. Keep in mind that estimates of long term heating (3 C per doubling) are about twice the short term heating. No one has actually confirmed these predictions with observation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 13 2018, @10:17PM (1 child)
You are a fool. Under educated and full of yourself. Once those heat sinks are gone we will see the real impact, right now we're just getting eratic weather patterns since we're in the middle of the tipping point. Once the glaciers are gone shit is gonna get wonky pretty quickly.
With weather once shit gets fucked you are already too late. Do you start boarding up your windows as the hurricane hits? NO!
No one has confirmed these predictions? So the satellites we spent billions on to monitor global weather patterns are nothing? The steady increase in global temperature is nothing? You won't believe there is a disaster coming until it arrives?
You're the worst kind of fool, the type that tries to speak with authority and convince others to follow your stupidity. There is all the benefit in the world to switch away from gas and oil, but that would be bad for those industries which I'm 99% sure is WHY you are such a moron. Your financial situation is hugely dependent on those industries so being a scaredy little conservative you'll do and believe anything that keeps you from having to change anything in your life.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 14 2018, @12:05AM
Like outer space? Earth will go first.
This is an example of the excluded middle fallacy. Because I don't fully agree with whatever position you hold, then I must fully disagree with it. Show there's a problem first, then we'll have something to talk about.
Oh really?
Such as more poverty, higher overpopulation, and the many consequences of more poverty and overpopulation such as higher pollution and consumption of fossil fuels. I'm instead interested in solving the bigger problems.
So the first reason you've mentioned for anyone to do anything, and it's to go against your argument. You're not getting it. We need reasons not feelz for heavily modifying our global economy and harming the well-being of billions of people.