The extreme weather events predicted for decades by climate scientists have been on parade in the Southern United States all year. Are we ready to say, "this is climate change"?
[Updated August 18, 2016 - the headline was updated to reflect the correct duration of time.]
"Climate change is never going to announce itself by name. But this is what we should expect it to look like," according to an article by Jonah Engel Bromwich about the recent catastrophic flooding in Louisiana.
According to the narrative built by the article, the recent floods in Louisiana are just the latest in a series of extreme events that are resetting expectations about the severity weather events. It's hard to deny that weather events are worsening in Louisiana:
The flooding in Louisiana is the eighth event since May of last year in which the amount of rainfall in an area in a specified window of time matches or exceeds the NOAA predictions for an amount of precipitation that will occur once every five hundred years, or has a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year.
As Engel Bromwich notes, it's not just Louisiana facing new levels of precipitation in short bursts of extreme weather, "five other states, most of them in the South, that have experienced deadly flooding in the last 15 months, including Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina and West Virginia." That local trend is contributing to a global fact of life, according to Engel Bromwich: "The third National Climate Assessment, released in 2014 by the United States Global Change Research Program, showed that 'the amount of rain falling in very heavy precipitation events' had been significantly above average since 1991."
FULL STORY: Flooding in the South Looks a Lot Like Climate Change
Flooding in the Midwest Shows There's No Refuge From Climate Change
While projections say areas of the U.S. Midwest around the Great Lakes will become more hospitable as the climate changes, stormwater and flooding is still a challenge in a surprising number of locations.
Ida Takes a Deadly Toll in the Northeast
Hurricane Ida passed through New Orleans, knocking out power causing extensive damage along the Gulf Coast. Then it moved to the Northeast, killing dozens of people with flooding caused by heavy rains.
The Great Flood of 2019, Visualized
The New York Times has published a spectacular mapping and data project to show the extent of flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the winter, spring, and summer of 2019.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
