In the latest example of “global warming means more winter weather,” the entire Northeastern portion of the United States was blasted by snow, high winds, and flooding last weekend into Monday. The area is still cleaning up from that storm, with another blast of winter weather expected this weekend.
The storm — dubbed Winter Storm Orlena — occurred at high tide along much of the Atlantic coast and caused catastrophic flooding in many areas. At least three buildings on Cape Cod had to be condemned due to storm damage, according to the Daily Mail. Two homes in the town of Sandwich collapsed onto the beach after their foundations were washed away by high waves associated with the storm.
The most dramatic example shows a collapsed ocean-front home, a portion of it being slapped by ocean waves.
“It got undermined and the house is on a 45-degree angle. And it’s totally gone now. There’s no moving it now. It’s just wrecked. It’s just destroyed,” said Michael Pottey, who lives in the neighborhood.
Flooding was also a concern along the Jersey shore. A Facebook video from the Union Beach, New Jersey, Police Department shows Police Chief Shannon Torres and Captain Michael Ferm rescuing a motorist stranded in rising flood waters.
Roads were washed out at Atlantic City, Belmar, Manasquan, and Wildwood in New Jersey and also at Howards Beach in New York.
Coastal flooding plagued areas from Delaware up to Maine.
In other parts of the Northeast, heavy snow was the problem. Nazareth, Pennsylvania, reported 36.1 inches as of Tuesday evening. Parts of Northern New Jersey were clobbered with over 30 inches. Central Park in New York reported 17 inches of snow. Heavy snow was also reported in New Hamphire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine.
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., received more snow during Winter Storm Orlena in just a few hours than they reported for all of the previous winter.
Heavy snow was also reported in the Midwest, with Chicago’s O’Hare airport reporting 13 inches, Racine, Wisconsin, reporting 13.5 inches, and Valparaiso, Indiana, reporting a foot of snow. Snow reached southward as well, with Gatlinburg, Tennessee, reporting 11 inches and Verona, Virginia, reporting 10 inches.
The storm forced COVID-19 vaccination sites to close over the region. Close to 600 flights had to be cancelled over the region, with more than 300 cancelled in the New York City area alone. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued a disaster proclamation on Monday.
While people are still cleaning up from Orlena, another storm system — dubbed Winter Storm Peggy — is expected to move into the region. While the National Weather Service expects smaller amounts of snow with the new system in the Northeast, a blast of Arctic temperatures is expected from the Midwest to the Northeast with high winds and air temperatures below zero in northern portions of the region.
So, where’s global warming when we need it? Don’t worry, it’s on the way, according to a Yale study released in late 2020. The study claims that by the end of the current century, a full 59 percent of the Northeast region will no longer accumulate snow.
“Historically, an average of 27 percent of the Northeast goes without snow,” said Danielle Grogan, the lead author of the study. “But by the end of the century, states like Connecticut and Pennsylvania could be snow-free.”
Like most predictions made by climate alarmists, the predictions made by Grogan will be forgotten long before they become a reality — if they ever do.
Meanwhile, if you live in the Midwest or the Northeast, get out your snow shovels and your warmest coats. Global warming is definitely not here yet.
