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Study says More Storms Hit Midwest

06/01/2012

If it seems like the region is being socked by more bad storms, more often, apparently we are. A report from a non-profit environmental group says extreme storms are hitting the Midwest more frequently and the flood damage they're causing is getting worse. Stephen Saunders, president of the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, says their research covered records from more than 200 weather stations in eight Midwestern states from the years 1960 through 2011. (play audio :09 “year period.”)
Scientists point to global climate change, he says, as the culprit behind the rising severity of storms over the decades. During that time, there was no change in the pattern of minor storms, while they found the nastier storms appeared much more often. (play audio :18 “103-percent.”)
Incidences of the most severe downpours doubled over the last half-century. (play audio :15 “those 12 years.”)
The study found the two most destructive years for flooding in our region during the five decades were 1993 and 2008. (play audio :18 “in the Midwest.”)
He says global studies already blame human-caused climate change for driving more extreme precipitation, and if emissions keep going up, Saunders says the forecast is for even more extreme storms in the region. One of the group's recommendations is: enacting comprehensive mandatory limits on global warming pollution to reduce emissions by at least 20-percent below current levels by 2020 and 80-percent by 2050. The report is called, "Doubled Trouble: More Midwestern Extreme Storms." Learn more at the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization website: www.rockymountainclimate.org.

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