Due to severe weather outbreaks in the community, extensive flooding and property damages have been caused as well as damages to roads, bridges and the power grid.
“This year we have seen a lot of flooding and a lot of water damage,” science teacher Kristi Grandy said. “The amount of rain falling in such a short time has been noticeable this year as a major impact factor.”
According to Grandy, who teaches the high school’s meteorology course, it seems as though the weather this year has been more severe than in past years.
“Every year we have some sort of bad weather calamity at some time of the year. It seems to me in my recent memory that this fall we have had a lot of bursts of heavy rain which is not always the case,” Grandy said.
Most people say that the increase in storms is a result of climate change.
“The quick answer and the one you hear thrown around a lot by weather forecasters is the warming atmosphere,” Grandy said, “but I think the other part of it is that it’s very difficult to attribute one particular season or one storm to just global warming.”
“[The storms were also made worse by the fact that there is] higher population density along coastlines and pavement everywhere, so there are not as many areas for runoff,” Grandy said.
Grandy believes there are things that people can do in the future to make the storms less severe.
“As far as a society, I think there are changes that could be made. If we can work from home and not flood the roadways with cars, there will be fewer accidents. If we can have more flexibility in our jobs and schools I think that might help alleviate some of that pressure,” Grandy said.
Infrastructure is also a large part of the problem.
“Our infrastructure needs to be improved too, I think a lot of our bridges, our electrical grid,” Grandy said. “There are things that are aging that have been around for so long. If we can put our power lines underground or safeguard them in a way that they are not being compromised.”
Another factor that made this storm worse is the loss of forest and ground that soaks up the water.
“We’re losing areas like forested or vegetated areas where runoff would naturally be absorbed and it is just funneling across the pavement or the roadways. So we need better channels for diverting these floodwaters so they do not pile up,” Grandy said.
According to Grandy, it should be expected that certain storms across the country will be worse than others.
“I do not think we can point to one storm and say that this is the face of global warming. I think our hurricane seasons will continue to wax and wane. Somewhere around the country, there is always going to be a bad hurricane during hurricane season,” Grandy said.
Grandy believes there are things that we can do to ensure this does not get worse.
“It’s still not to say that we can start to improve our practices as far as becoming more sustainable and finding alternative energy sources,” Grandy said. “We have to move in that direction. Fossil fuels are not renewable so it would be remiss of us not to try to explore other options.”