40 years ago, we had to worry about hurricanes occasionally, and you could usually count on a handful of powerful nor’easters each winter. Thunderstorms in the summer were frequent but rarely severe. We used to go out in the yard and watch the light show as they approached.
In the last 10 years or so, thunderstorms have turned into deluge events, and are starting sooner in the year. It’s a coin flip whether a severe storm will be accompanied by a tornado watch/warning. My friends got lucky last spring, only sustaining minor porch damage while less than a hundred yards away dozens of trees were downed, some falling onto roofs. One of 12 tornadoes in the area that day. We’ve had double-digit tornado counts only 4 times in the past 70-some years, and three of them were in the past 5 years.
40 years ago, we had to worry about hurricanes occasionally, and you could usually count on a handful of powerful nor’easters each winter. Thunderstorms in the summer were frequent but rarely severe. We used to go out in the yard and watch the light show as they approached.
In the last 10 years or so, thunderstorms have turned into deluge events, and are starting sooner in the year. It’s a coin flip whether a severe storm will be accompanied by a tornado watch/warning. My friends got lucky last spring, only sustaining minor porch damage while less than a hundred yards away dozens of trees were downed, some falling onto roofs. One of 12 tornadoes in the area that day. We’ve had double-digit tornado counts only 4 times in the past 70-some years, and three of them were in the past 5 years.
This is not normal.