Crazy Climates

Its creeping up on us
Cecilia Compton

(Photo by Jim Richardson National Geographic Creative)

With the chaos -organized and unorganized- of our fast paced world it is becoming harder
to notice the little things, maybe the pile of dishes or the screeching sound your car brakes make.
However, there might be something bigger creeping up on you. Extreme weather,
unexpectable, unusual, unpredictable severe or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of
the historical distribution [...]; and there has been a lot of it lately, an unsettling amount. This
extreme weather is thought to be caused by climate change. Examples of extreme weather
include the severe drought in California, Hurricane Mathew, and Colorado's very own El Nio.
This article will explore three out of six kinds of extreme weather.
Hurricanes
Possibly one of the most destructive weather patterns on this list, hurricanes seem to be
getting more and more common with more sporadic and unpredictable patterns and worse
results. Hurricane Matthew is a great example of how hurricanes have become more
unpredictable. The Weather Channel did a recap on Hurricane Matthew: Matthew formed from

a tropical wave that pushed off the African coast in late September. That tropical wave was
dubbed Invest 97L just southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on Sept. 25. [...]
Once Matthew reached the eastern Caribbean, it became a hurricane and rapidly
intensified. Its peak intensity was late Sept. 30 into early Oct. 1 when it reached Category 5
strength with 160 mph winds.

Matthew then made landfall in Haiti and eastern Cuba on Oct. 4 as a Category 4.

From there, Matthew hammered the Bahamas Oct. 5-6 as a Category 3 and 4 hurricane.

The southeastern United States was then hit hard by Hurricane Matthew as it moved very
close to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Matthew made one
official U.S. landfall on Oct. 8 southeast of McClellanville, South Carolina, as a Category 1
hurricane with 75 mph winds,.

The patterns of this hurricane were fairly sporadic and unusual, however while the events
of the hurricane were actually occurring weather channels and meteorologists had an even harder
time predicting the outcome. This was a serious issue for people that needed this information to
stay safe in the extreme situations. For example many people in Florida were not aware of how
extreme the hurricane actually was. So when they did understand the danger they were
potentially in, there was a mass exodus that clogged up the highways and caused more issues.
Hurricane Matthew never actually touched down in Florida, demonstrating these unusual
patterns. However, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and Cuba harder than expected causing more
devastation than necessary.

(Photo by Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press)

Wildfire
While hurricanes might be the most well known and potentially hazardous event being
placed on the extreme weather list, wildfires are becoming a larger issue due to climbing global
temperatures, heat waves, and drought. Wildfires might also be more familiar to anyone living
in Colorado. Over the past few years there seems to be increase in wildfires. The recent Black
Ridge Fire, just 14 miles southwest of Durango, that started in mid-July of this year was only one
of the many fires experienced in 2016. The Durango Herald said, in a recap of the Black Ridge
Fire, In light of recent hot, dry weather that has fueled a slew of recent fires in La Plata County,
a red flag warning was in effect Monday for western Colorado and parts of southeastern Utah, as
well as a no-burn order. These warnings are all too familiar for anyone living in a place
affected drought, dry weather, and heat waves. Californias fires have also been worsening due
to the extreme drought and creating serious issues for their native animals.

(Photo by Michael Frye, Associated Press)

Winter Weather
Durangos recent El Nio is a perfect example of extreme winter weather. This also
means it is not all bad, more snowfall makes for better skiing and more powder days; more
snowfall also means more runoff in the spring. However, it also creates greater avalanche
danger and more potential for snow damage to. While our El Nio was widely welcomed, some
of the more sporadic winter weather has been unpredictable and hard to prepare for. For
example, some of the East Coast's recent extreme winters have caused more serious issues due to
the unpredictability. The freezing temperatures and simply insane amounts of snow are enough
to make anyone a little worried, not to mention how quickly grocery stores empty once one of
these storms is predicted. It is almost apocalyptic.

(Photo by Charlie Anderson)

Drought, heat waves, and floods are some of the other major disasters currently on the
extreme weather list, and it could be growing. Global climate change affects all weather patterns
on this list. Rising temperatures in some climates means more water molecules in the air, this
leads to more extreme winters, heavier rains, and worsening floods. These event also lead to
other events, like mudslides and destructive erosion. In some paces higher temperatures lead to
drier climates and events like drought, heatwaves, and wildfire. These events have their own
chain of destruction; drought leads to less habitat for aquatic life and wild fires destroys habitats
for woodland creatures. That was just a brief summary of how rising temperatures alone are
creating widespread issues that will affect all of us. As you can see this is a disastrous and
dangerous chain reaction affecting almost every habitat, climate, and species.

If you want to support the fight against global climate change here are some resources
you can support:
http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/07/five-groups-leading-the-charge-to-halt-climate-change/

Sources:

"Extreme Weather: 13 Striking Pictures." National Geographic. National Geographic Society,

n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
"Extreme Weather." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
@weatherchannel. "Hurricane Matthew Recap: Destruction From the Caribbean to the United
States." The Weather Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
Tegna. "Colorado Wildfires: The Latest Information." KUSA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
McFadden, David. "Hurricane Matthew's Destructive Swath Hits Bahamas | Toronto Star."
Thestar.com. N.p., 05 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
@pfimrite. "Yosemite Fire near Half Dome Forces Airlifting of 85 People." SFGate. N.p., n.d.
Web. 02 Nov. 2016.