Extreme Weather

Every Other Summer Will Shatter Heat Records Within a Decade

Stephen Leahy, Motherboard, November 1, 2017

Think of the stickiest, record-hot summer you've ever experienced, whether you're 30 or 60 years old. In 10 years or less, that miserable summer will happen every second year across most of the US and Canada, the Mediterranean, and much of Asia, according to a study to be published in the open access journal Earth's Future.

El Diablo in Wine Country

Mike Davis, counterpunch.org, October 19, 2017

In 1942 Alfred Hitchcock recruited the author of Our Town, Thornton Wilder, to write the screenplay for Shadow of a Doubt, an innocence-versus-evil thriller set in an ‘idyllic American town’. After considering various candidates, Hitchcock and Wilder selected Santa Rosa, a picturesque agricultural community of 13,000 people, 55 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma County. The following year, Santa Rosa was introduced to millions of filmgoers in a series of establishing shots that began with aerial views of its pretty countryside and ‘all-American’ downtown.

Deadly Fires Sweep Portugal and Northern Spain

Raphael Minder, New York Times, October 16, 2017

MADRID — At least 35 people have been killed and dozens more injured by wildfires in Portugal and northern Spain, as strong winds from a hurricane fanned hundreds of blazes sweeping across densely forested territory.

Berkeley Fire Department

BFD, Santa Rosa, October 17, 2017

This video shot by the Berkeley Fire Department will give you a very real perspective of being in Santa Rosa early Monday morning, the 9th, during the height of the fire.

‘Berkeley firefighters arrived in Santa Rosa, stunned by scope of Tubbs Fire’

A tale of two islands

Vijay Prashad, frontline, October 16, 2017

One island, a poor socialist state with infrastructure in grave need of modernisation, has slowly emerged out of the chaos caused by a hurricane’s wrath, while the other, a territory of the richest country in the world, cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Another Historic Storm: Surreal Ophelia Strikes Ireland with Hurricane Force

RS, robertscribbler.com, October 16, 2017

“Ophelia is breaking new ground for a major hurricane. Typically those waters much too cool for anything this strong. I really can’t believe I’m seeing a major just south of the Azores.” — National Hurricane Center scientist Eric Blake wrote on Twitter.

*****

Stark Evidence: A Warmer World Is Sparking More and Bigger Wildfires

Nicola Jones, Yale Environment 360, October 2, 2017

On a single hot, dry day this summer, an astonishing 140 wildfires leapt to life across British Columbia. “Friday, July 7 was just crazy,” says Mike Flannigan, director of the wildland fire partnership at the University of Alberta. A state of emergency was declared.

Washington Set Puerto Rico Up for Disaster

Hector Figueroa, New York Times, September 28, 2017

It’s been more than a week since I’ve had any word in New York from my 93-year-old father in Puerto Rico. He lives in Coamo, a town in the path of the worst storm to hit the island since 1928. My experience has been shared by millions of Puerto Ricans in the diaspora since Hurricane Maria wreaked its havoc on Sept. 20.

Harvey’s silver lining: A boost for the economy

Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2017

(Harvey killed a lot of people and ruined a lot of lives, but it's great for capitalism as the article below from the Business Section of the L.A. Times explains. What a system! DK)

Floodwaters in and around Houston severely damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks, many of which will be replaced. Those new and used vehicle sales will benefit automakers and the economy, providing a glint of silver lining amid terrible tragedy.

Earth's oceans are warming 13% faster than thought, and accelerating

John Abraham, The Guardian, September 20, 2017

New research has convincingly quantified how much the Earth has warmed over the past 56 years. Human activities utilize fossil fuels for many beneficial purposes but have an undesirable side effect of adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at ever-increasing rates. That increase - of over 40%, with most since 1980 - traps heat in the Earth’s system, warming the entire planet.

But how fast is the Earth warming and how much will it warm in the future? Those are the critical questions we need to answer if we are going to make smart decisions on how to handle this issue.

Extreme Weather

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