Alien sky? No, just cloud boobs: A variation of mammatus clouds after recent Minnesota tornadoes, from the Star Tribune.<\/p>\n
Today is the summer solstice!\u00a0\u00a0 This means summer is finally here, and no one loves summer like people who live in the north, since we endure so many months of brutally cold weather every winter.\u00a0 True, that brutally cold weather isn’t quite so brutal anymore, and it doesn’t seem to last as long, and summers seem cooler and wetter than they used to be.\u00a0 This fits the predictions of global warming.\u00a0 You would think that a person who lives in the north and endures the winter up here would not worry about global warming, and might even welcome it.\u00a0 That is the prevailing thought among many people here who do not know what unchecked climate change will bring. And sure, it’s true that I wish it was warmer here.\u00a0 Unfortunately, climate change is going to make things much more difficult for everyone no matter where they live.\u00a0 Water shortages and storms will make life a challenge for everyone eventually, including people in the north.<\/p>\n
So far, we had a hot spring in Minnesota that cooled down recently, and then we got a rollercoaster of wild weather, with nearly two weeks of rain (odd for June) and then BANG — 34 tornadoes in a single day on June 17th.\u00a0 \u00a0This outbreak\u00a0 of killer tornadoes included at least three F4 tornadoes. \u00a0 As a local weatherman here wrote in his newspaper column today:<\/p>\n
“How could this happen here?\u00a0 We live in tornado cul de sac, not tornado alley.\u00a0 How could we experience an entire YEAR’S worth of tornadoes in one day?\u00a0 As the climate warms and weather patterns shift north we’re seeing more large, violent tornadoes hitting the North Woods.\u00a0 That seems to be a trend.”<\/p>\n
That observation was from Paul Douglas.<\/p>\n
People have died all across the country due to major severe weather outbreaks; flash floods, flash rains and tornadoes.\u00a0 And it’s not just in the US — it’s happening in parts of Europe, Central America, and in China.\u00a0 Giant sinkholes are appearing all over the world too as the earth just seems to be eroding and collapsing. What’s going on?<\/p>\n
It’s likely that our weird and often severe weather is the result of climate change.\u00a0 Global warming warms not just the atmosphere but also the oceans.\u00a0 The oceans act like a temperature regulator and right now the oceans are putting warmer-than-ever moisture into the air. It’s fueling storms and seems to be affecting the whole planet’s weather.<\/p>\n
The Little Missouri River in Southwest Arkansas experienced a flash flood June 11, with waters that rose over 20 feet in just 5 hours, killing at least 20 people.\u00a0 And in China, nearly 150 people have died recently from flash floods.<\/p>\n
“Floods and landslides triggered by the summer deluge have caused the evacuations of more than 800,000 people, state-run television said.\u00a0 Earlier media reports said more than 1.4 million people living on [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alien sky? No, just cloud boobs: A variation of mammatus clouds after recent Minnesota tornadoes, from the Star Tribune. Today is the summer solstice!\u00a0\u00a0 This means summer is finally here, and no one loves summer like people who live in … Continue reading