Nature's Ways
News of the Natural World
Share and Subscribe
Care to share? Rollover below:
Want to receive new Nature's Blog entries in your Web browser? Click below:
Stormy Weather
01/17/09 06:45 AM
Weather is a big influence in our lives . . . and here's why
The United States has the distinction of experiencing more severe weather than any other nation on the planet. The variety of storms — tornadoes, blizzards, floods, severe thunderstorms, lightening barrages, heat waves, hurricanes, etc. — combined with their frequency and intensity, make us the extreme weather capitol of Mother Earth.
Granted, there are other countries that can claim the worst weather in one particular category (Antarctica, for example, takes the prize for most extreme cold), but the USA's cornucopia of varied and intense meteorological events is unparalleled.
On average, we log 10,000 violent storms of various kinds each year, and this tally doesn't include the roughly 5,000 floods and thousands of wildfires that ravage our national landscape annually. These tempests claim about 1,300 lives every year.
Within our nation itself, the Midwest shows the greatest concentration of severe weather events, particularly within "tornado alley," a wide swath running through the Great Plains from Texas to the Dakotas. In addition to enduring most of our twisters, this topography is subject to intense blizzards, cold snaps, heat waves and severe thunderstorms.
More than other inhabitants of the planet, Americans should be knowledgeable about the weather, and not just how to read a forecast. By knowing basic survival skills in extreme weather conditions and planning ahead when storms threaten, we can increase our odds of remaining safe in the stormiest nation on Earth.
Granted, there are other countries that can claim the worst weather in one particular category (Antarctica, for example, takes the prize for most extreme cold), but the USA's cornucopia of varied and intense meteorological events is unparalleled.
On average, we log 10,000 violent storms of various kinds each year, and this tally doesn't include the roughly 5,000 floods and thousands of wildfires that ravage our national landscape annually. These tempests claim about 1,300 lives every year.
Within our nation itself, the Midwest shows the greatest concentration of severe weather events, particularly within "tornado alley," a wide swath running through the Great Plains from Texas to the Dakotas. In addition to enduring most of our twisters, this topography is subject to intense blizzards, cold snaps, heat waves and severe thunderstorms.
More than other inhabitants of the planet, Americans should be knowledgeable about the weather, and not just how to read a forecast. By knowing basic survival skills in extreme weather conditions and planning ahead when storms threaten, we can increase our odds of remaining safe in the stormiest nation on Earth.