Global warming and severe weather events

A grader clears snow in downtown Ware, Mass., on Feb. 9, 2012, as Winterstorm Nemo buffets New England. /Image via Facebook.com


Dispatch from New England: The weather here has changed significantly over the past 30 years.

I've had my eyes to the sky and glued to TV weather forecasts since Mr. Val's earth sciences class in high school. Combined with my farmer ancestry, it's fair to say I'm pretty plugged into the climate.

I've witnessed New England's increased incidences of severe winter storms and tornadic thunderstorms in the summer, and they are among the convincing signs of the dangerous effects of global warming to come.

But don't just rely on a cranky Yankee. Check out what these folks have to say:

National Wildlife Federation: "Global warming has caused more heavy rainfall events in the United States over the last few decades along with an increased likelihood of devastating floods. While no single storm or flood can be attributed directly to global warming, changing climate conditions are at least partly responsible for past trends. Because warmer air can hold more moisture, more and heavier precipitation is expected in the years to come. At the same time, shifts in snowfall patterns, the onset of spring and river-ice melting may all exacerbate some flooding risks."

Nobel Laureate Mario Molina: "People may not be aware that important changes have occurred in the scientific understanding of the extreme weather events that are in the headlines," Molina said in August 2012 at the 244th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society. "They are now more clearly connected to human activities, such as the release of carbon dioxide ― the main greenhouse gas ― from burning coal and other fossil fuels."

Union of Concerned Scientists: "One consequence of global warming is an increase in both ocean evaporation into the atmosphere, and the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold. High levels of water vapor in the atmosphere in turn create conditions more favorable for heavier precipitation in the form of intense rain and snow storms. ... As the Earth warms, the amount of rain or snow falling in the heaviest one percent of storms has risen nearly 20 percent on average in the United States — almost three times the rate of increase in total precipitation between 1958 and 2007."

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina damaged or destroyed thousands homes in New Orleans. /Image via globalsecurity.org