In the Path of the Storm

Global Warming, Extreme Weather and the Impacts of Weather- Related Disasters in the United States from 2007 to 2012

Nearly six months after Hurricane Sandy and just over two months after Winter Storm Nemo, a new Environment Rhode Island Research & Policy Center report finds that weather-related disasters are already affecting hundreds of millions of Americans, including all Rhode Island counties, and documents how global warming could lead to certain extreme weather events becoming even more common or more severe in the future.

Environment Rhode Island Research & Policy Center

Nearly six months after Hurricane Sandy and just over two months after Winter Storm Nemo, a new Environment Rhode Island Research & Policy Center report finds that weather-related disasters are already affecting hundreds of millions of Americans, including all Rhode Island counties, and documents how global warming could lead to certain extreme weather events becoming even more common or more severe in the future.

The report examines county-level weather-related disaster declaration data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for 2007 through 2012. The complete county-level data can be viewed through an interactive online map. The report also details the latest science on the projected influence of global warming on heavy rain and snow; heat, drought, and wildfires; and hurricanes and coastal storms. Finally, the report explores how the damage from even non-extreme weather events could increase due to other impacts of global warming, like sea level rise.

Key findings include:

  • Since 2007, federally declared weather-related disasters have affected all five Rhode Island counties.
  • Weather-related disasters have affected Rhode Island in each of the past three years: Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, and severe storms and flooding in 2010.
  • Nationally, federally declared weather-related disasters have affected counties housing 243 million people since 2007—or nearly four out of five Americans.
  • Other research shows that Rhode Island has experienced an increase in heavy precipitation events, with extreme rainstorms and snowstorms happening 90 percent more frequently since the mid-twentieth century. The trend towards extreme precipitation is projected to continue in a warming world, even though higher temperatures and drier summers will likely also increase the risk of drought in between the rainy periods and for certain parts of the country.
  • Records show that the U.S. has experienced an increase in the number of heat waves over the last half-century. Scientists project that the heat waves and unusually hot seasons will likely become more common in a warming world. – Other research predicts that hurricanes are expected to become even more intense and bring greater amounts of rainfall in a warming world, even though the number of hurricanes may remain the same or decrease.

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