Are The Floods in the Mid-Atlantic Evidence of Global Warming?

[Yavin4]

Or just a natural occurence.

[GrumpyGreg]

1. No! It apparently happened about 200 years ago.

[hopeisaplace]

2. yes to global warming.

Now everytime we get a storm here, I wonder how serious it's gonna get.
(in canada...the future "new miami beach")

[marmar]

3. The wacked out weather patterns that global warming causes...

Produce excessive rains for some areas, severe drought for others. The Northeast and MidAtlantic are way over their averages for rain this year, and that's been the case several times in recent years. The Mountain and Southwest - tinder-box dry.

[jobycom]

4. Natural occurence, but who knows what role GW played in that.

Freak storms and changing weather patterns have always happened. In and of themselves, they are just storms. Just as Katrina was just a hurricane. There have been other hurricanes, other storms. None of them by themselves is evidence of GW.

Compiled into statistics of changing weather patterns over several decades, they may be evidence that patterns are changing. Also, placed into predictive models of what effects GW would have on the weather, these events can be used as arguments to show that what scientists theorized could happen has started happening.

To prove global warming, statistics and measurements of all kinds have to be gathered and organized into a model that demonstrates that the world is heating up, and that there is no other possible explanation for these data.

Then models would have to be constructed proving it was man made, or at least man-worsened.

The problem I have people saying these storms or Katrina or any other such factors prove Global Warming is that we could very well go into a period where things are mild for a year or two. Then the deniers will say "See, you claimed these storms proved GW, but now this calm period proves you were wrong." It's too simplistic an argument, like a child trying to prove that ice cream is healthy by pointing out that his sister ate it and didn't get sick. Or proving it's unhealthy because his sister got sick. We need more proof.

Of course, I think there is enough proof now to justify battling what we think are the causes of GW, and for creating solutions to crises related to GW, now. If we're wrong, or exagerating, we will still have cleaner air, and better energy sources, and a better economy from having created new industries.

Just my opinions. Probably wrong, as always.

[jerry611]

5. Alright...I am sorry but I have to say something....

Now I do think global warming is occuring...
But to claim that every single flood and natural disaster is a result of it is stupid. And that only gives more provocation for our opponents to point and laugh.

Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, snowstorms, etc... all have been happening on this planet for billions of years.

I mean everytime a river goes a few feet higher...someone comes out screaming about global warming. I mean come on... it's starting to sound a lot like chicken little.

[WinkyDink]

8. True, but note how many are record-setting events.

Hottest summer ever, e.g.

Just today, to my immediate East, the river is expected to reach a record flood stage.

[hatrack]

6. Not proof, or even evidence, but in every way consistent with the models

The models don't say "Hurricane X" or "Storm Y" will show you that climate breakdown is true, but the rule of thumb is that a warming world will produce more extreme storms, higher rainfall totals, more intense floods and more pronounced droughts (potentially within the same area in the same year) and so on down the line.

So, proof? No, not necessarily. Consistency with what's expected? Absolutely.

[Selatius]

7. You can't link any specific weather event to Global Warming

The Midwest floods of 1993 were apparently things that happen once every several centuries as well. If you want evidence, you are better off drilling glaciers for ice core samples to measure the amount of carbon dioxide over the eons and compare them to results found today.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yes we had a supercell form over

that area... if it was an isolated occurrence, the answer would be different, but after last summer of hell... it is consistent with all models I have seen

[leftofthedial]

10. our climaste will be totally wack for a couple of decades at least

then, when it stabilizes, it will be *bad*

*very bad*

[ConsAreLiars]

11. Nothing is "caused" by a single factor. Everything in life

reflects many factors. Adding one more, like pouring CO2 into the skies, just makes events like these more frequent and severe.

This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

[undergroundpanther]

12. Where I live

The National Weather Service released figures yesterday morning showing that Bel Air had received 12.29 inches of rain over a four-day period -

This is what we "normally" get rain wise...

Precip. in June: 7.30 "
Normal for June: 3.19 "
Precip. this year: 18.47 "
Normal precip. year to date: 20.97

http://www.marylandweather.com/news/weather/site/

I think Global warming(or something else) is effecting the Weather..

[dipsydoodle]

14. That dwarfs London

I've a banjo buddy in VA who seems to think it's always raining in London. Our actual average is c. 24 inches a year and of late it's been less than that. I'm in an adjacent county 14 miles NW of central London and half of the county is currently under a full drought order - no car washing or garden watering from main supplied water. Garden centres are selling water butts in volume as a result.

Yes - global warming is compounding a natural cycle and the natural cycle is still climbimg to its peak.

[H2O Man]

13. I haven't seen

this much water in the spring before.

[H2O Man]

15. PS .....

Here's a photo from the late 1800s from the same spot.

[lynne]

16. Natural Occurrence -

- if this was going on in February, then you might have a case for Global Warming. A late June tropically fed weather system is pretty much to be expected. This particular one got stalled by another frontal system, much like Agnes did. Agnes was a very minor hurricane - Cat 1, I believe. BUT, it was loaded with water - got stalled - and just dumped water for a week.

I remember Agnes all too well and this is minor in comparison. Some individual areas may be feeling it more but - overall - this is a cake walk. 129 died in Agnes.

Every inch of new building and concrete poured since 1972's Agnes is one less place where the earth can absorb the rain and contributes to the flooding we're seeing now. Not to mention that we were in a nasty drought and the ground was so hard that it was almost impossible for it to absorb the fast downpours.