Disaster Recovery News

Spring officially starts in less than a month, but you wouldn’t know from by looking at the weather across the U.S. and reading predicted forecasts.

Northwest

Snow is falling over parts of the Northwest and northern Rockies that generally do not see snow this late in the winter season. For example, the forecast predicts up to four inches of snowfall in the Seattle, WA and Portland, OR area. Residents in the Northwest are going to have to put off their spring-cleaning for another day and, in the mean time, make sure their plumbing is insulated well to prevent burst pipes and water damage.

South

As the South battles wildfires with their neighboring Eastern states, The Weather Channel predicts a severe storm outbreak in the Dixie Valley—parts of the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley. Meteorologist Dr. Greg Forbes expects the storms to begin as early as Thursday. Residents in this area can expect to see floods, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.

Those living in this area should prepare emergency disaster kits that contain the phone numbers of their insurance agents and a restoration specialist. Residents should also be ready to evacuate their homes if directed by emergency personnel.

East

Not getting any breaks from Mother Nature, the Eastern states continue to battle wildfires. Residents are on alert in many communities, and are prepared to evacuate their homes. The low humidity and winds continue to fuel the fires, and this is not expected to change in the immediate future. Like those in the South, residents who are a wildfire should prepare an emergency disaster kit. Learn how to prepare for fire damage.

More on the nation’s weather.

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Image from FEMA

With fears of impending large-scale natural disasters, top climate scientists from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), UK Met Office and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will meet in Boulder, Colorado during the week for the first full session of ACE, the Attribution of Climate-related Events. The meeting is not a brainstorming session to try to prevent catastrophic events. Rather, My Fox Atlanta reports the professionals will put their heads together in an attempt to create a warning system to help predict meteorological disasters.

With the recent deadly flood in Pakistan, Moscow heat waves, Atlantic Ocean storms and severe winter weather, which some are saying is a result of “global weirding,” are trepidations about more frequent and deadlier natural disasters. The goal is to create a reliable warning system that would have the ability to identify the location and indicate the severity of future extreme weather events in a timely manner and, thus, save thousands of lives.

Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring at the UK Met Office, told “The Guardian”:

“These are the sorts of things we need to understand. We need to be able to forecast events weeks or months ahead of their occurrence so people can mitigate their worst impacts. We also need to consider the longer-term context and see if we need to build better sea defenses at a particular location and assess how high dykes or walls need to be. Certainly, one thing is clear: there is no time to waste. The effects of global warming are already upon us.”

While severe weather is an important concern for many, you do not need to be a scientist to plan for it. You can prepare your home and business for the unthinkable today by creating an emergency preparedness plan that includes steps to get you back on your feet and dry wet documents.

Learn more about disaster preparedness.