Warmest March ever, warmest year-to-date ever, for U.S.
Due to the extraordinary heat wave that sent temperatures soaring to summer-like levels across the eastern two-thirds of the country, March was officially the warmest such month in history for the Lower 48 states, the National Climatic Data Center NCDC announced Monday. The heat wave was unprecedented in its scope and magnitude for so early [...]
March tornadoes racked up $1.1 Billion in insured losses
Severe weather in the U.S., led by tornadoes in the Midwest and Tennessee Valley, caused more than $1.2 billion of insured losses in March, according to Aon Corp. AON, the world’s biggest insurance broker.Insurers reported more than 170,000 claims tied to storms from March 2 and 3, London-based Aon said in a report today. The [...]
Storms lead to 15% jump in losses for insurance companies
For homeowners insurance, direct-written premium rose 3.5 percent to more than $71.6 billion for [2011]. The increase indicates “that rate increases—stemming from recent years’ unexpectedly high weather-related losses—are gaining traction.” Storm losses accounted for a 14.8 point increase in the direct-loss ratio to 75.8 “likely motivating continued rate increases in 2012,” according to Shields.
98% of Colorado in drought
Climatologists at Colorado State University are confirming what many Coloradans already suspect — almost the entire state is consumed by drought. About 98 percent of the state is experiencing varying levels of drought, according to CSU, with the most severe in the Arkansas Basin, where drought ranges from D1, or “moderate” drought to D3, or [...]
New analysis: All weather events affected by changes to the climate
The atmospheric and ocean environment has changed from human activities in ways that affect storms and extreme climate events. The main way climate change is perceived is through changes in extremes because those are outside the bounds of previous weather. The average anthropogenic climate change effect is not negligible, but nor is it large, although [...]
“Surreal heat” jump starts early asthma season with record pollen counts
The surreal heat that’s baking much of the central and eastern USA has unleashed an unusually early and intense blast of tree pollen, making life miserable for tens of millions of people who suffer from seasonal allergies. Forecasters and allergists blame the unseasonably warm weather, and few cold snaps, for causing plants to bloom weeks [...]
Texas drought cost $7.6 billion
Texas agriculture producers lost $7.62 billion to the state’s 2011 drought, which experts said makes it the costliest drought in the state’s history and possibly the most expensive drought ever suffered by any state. “No one alive has seen single-year drought damage to this extent,” said Travis Miller, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University. [...]
986 wildfires in Flordia so far this year, as drought drives blazes
The Florida Forest Service is predicting a difficult wildfire season if dry conditions persist.Those conditions have created four wildfires in Putnam County that have burned about 900 acres, according to figures provided by the state. In addition, statewide, the dry conditions and the lack of tropical systems last year have helped cause 986 wildfires that [...]
Mutant Heat Wave Shattering Records
More than 2,200 warm temperature records have been set so far in March. Take a look at the map above to see where temps are crazy departures from normal. This isn’t your average heat wave. Its duration, set against more than a century of record keeping, makes it one for the climate change chronicles. Here’s [...]
