Our unusual weather to continue
Although we did see some sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday, more rain is in the forecast and more rain is exactly what we do not need as the ground is already saturated from so much rain this year.
We, like so much of the Middle Atlantic region, are on track to break the all-time rain record for annual precipitation. Baltimore, Washington and many other cities have already broken these long standing records. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, rainfall records go back to 1850 in Pittsburgh and here in Uniontown rainfall was first recorded in 1913, although records are not complete in recent years.
So far, most of our area is running between 15 and 18 inches above normal for the year, and while not at the record yet, we are very close. Normal rainfall for Uniontown is 42 inches. Nearby Morgantown is also 42 inches and Pittsburgh at 40 inches. Our mountains due to the higher elevations average 54 inches per year. Wilmington North Carolina thanks to Hurricane Florence has already broken their all-time record having received more than 100 inches this year. Their average is 57 inches. From New York to Georgia, many new records are being set as rain continues to fall during the last weeks of December.
Rain is in our forecast today as another storm sweeps in off the Pacific and picks up moisture from the Gulf as it travels through the south and northward across the Middle Atlantic and Northeast. The wavy jet stream pattern continues to be much further south than usual and has been credited with the rains in the past several months. With a warmer atmosphere, there is more energy available to fuel these storms.
Debate all you want as to the cause of all this unusual weather, the important thing is that it is here and we need to start thinking and acting to protect ourselves. We have lived in our mountain home for almost 50 years and this is the first year we have experienced a continuously running stream of water on our property. The ground simply cannot hold any more water. The saturated ground also plays havoc with trees especially the ones that have died and do not have a root structure to anchor them to the forest floor. Winter winds will certainly play a role in bringing the vulnerable ones down. Exercise caution when outdoors this winter.
Winter rains have put an end to fires out West, but now we have the landsides as the forests are devoid of brush and trees to hold the water from rushing down the hillside. These same storms are depositing a lot of snow in the Western mountains and this should help with next year鈥檚 fire and drought season.
On another good note, a recent article in the National Underwriter, an Insurance industry publication, reported on the new rebuilt lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores Alabama that was destroyed in Hurricane Ivan a few years ago. The new lodge was built using the new common sense construction methods that can withstand category 5 hurricanes and is propped up well above flood level to protect against storm surge. It鈥檚 this kind of thinking and action we need to take to better adapt to the reality of a changed environment.