So much for our monsoonal-type weather to suddenly stop. A few dry days, and then it’s back to seemingly an endless string of days with rain, showers or t-storms on every day’s weather forecast page, as meteorologists struggle to explain all the things that must align perfectly to create such unusual conditions, and the rest of us tend keep our outdoor activities and chores on hold until things dry out.
The months of March through May, meteorologically speaking, are considered the “Spring” months, the period when we normally get a majority of our annual rainfall. The all-time record for rainfall during this period occurred in 1976 when we had 20.15 inches. So are we actually about to break that record? During this 2011 period, we’ve had precipitation on 57 days during this time, while the same period in Spring 2010 and 1976 saw precip on just 48 days. As we’re averaging 4-6 inches of rain with each new series of rainfall fronts, we could certainly see that old record washed away by month’s end this year.
Of course we certainly aren’t alone here in Chenango County. Vermont is suffering through record breaking rain and flooding, as is the entire Mississippi River drainage system, which means our entire heartland area. Even Australia, a continent known primarily for drought and heat, experienced its worst flooding and wettest spring season on record.
So, what is all that rain and flooding indicate? Is it global warming come a-knocking 40 years sooner than expected? Watch now as the meteorologists and climatologists start clanging their sabers to come up with answers and more funding for more studies. One thing to keep in mind when the arguing starts is that “global” includes the entire planet while “climate” refers to specific geographic regions. So, I guess we’re experiencing just climate change here in the U.S. But how will this play out if this summer turns out to be hotter anddrier than normal to the degree that our spring was colder and wetter? I guess I’ll leave that up to the experts to figure out. Meantime, all we can do is keep watching those extended weather forecasts for glimpses of sun and no precip.
One ABC News report did say the massive mid America flooding was “man made,” but not by global warming. “As the Mississippi River continues to rise and the threat of flooding moves south with the current many critics of the Army Corps of Engineers were blaming man rather than Mother Nature for the high water.
“This is largely a man-made disaster, to point it only to rainfall is naive,” said H.J. Bosworth Jr., civil engineer and director of research for Levees.org. “Yes, there was lots of rainfall, but there was also lots of development. Every time you build a parking lot or a Walmart you add to the burden of the drainage system and all that drainage goes into the Mississippi River.”
Bosworth says many parts of the water system including the levees were built prior to the creation of the fully developed urban areas and that this transition from soil to cement greatly increases run-off.” Guess we’d call those anti-carbon footprinting, huh.
