[MCN] Some MT politicians say dealing with climate risk puts the economy at risk

[Lance Olsen]

Insurance Journal  February 12, 2020

‘Rivers in the Sky’ Causing Billions in Flood Damage in U.S.
By Brian K. Sullivan <https://www.insurancejournal.com/author/brian-k-sullivan/> 
<<https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/02/12/558222.htm <https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/02/12/558222.htm>>>
Excerpts 

Atmospheric rivers are narrow ribbons of concentrated moisture that originate in the Pacific and can flow thousands of miles before dropping rain and snow on land. Scientists are ramping up their research into the systems this winter fearful that warmer temperatures tied to climate change will boost the moisture they carry, supercharging them moving forward.

“It is 100% completely saturated air,” said Rich Henning, a flight director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <https://www.noaa.gov/> who conducts onboard weather observations. “If you’re ever wondering how six feet of snow can fall in the Cascades in one day, this is exactly how all that moisture is transported.”

The systems flow between 1,000 and 2,000 feet above the surface, with 80 mile-per-hour winds pushing the water vapor through the air, Henning said. Last week, crews from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force Reserve flew into an atmospheric river that traveled from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest.

A study released in December <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/12/eaax4631> by Scripps and the Army Corps of Engineers found that atmospheric rivers caused 84% of the flood damage suffered in 11 western states over 40 years through 2017. The average annual cost: $1.1 billion, according to the report.

“In a warmer climate,” the study concluded, atmospheric rivers will be “more intense as they become wetter, longer, and wider; there is some indication that this is already happening.”

It won’t take much of a temperature change to boost their moisture content, according to John Dickson, a flood researcher who is the chief executive officer of Aon Edge, a Montana-based flood insurance provider. A rise of just 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit can boost water vapor in the air by 7%, he said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“ Increasingly, fires are even spreading through the Arctic, where there is little to burn other than grasses, sedges, and a few shrubs.”

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145417/a-new-global-fire-atlas?src=eoa-iotd

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bigskynet.org/pipermail/missoula-community-news_bigskynet.org/attachments/20200212/3073bedc/attachment.html>