Every Maine County Hit By At Least One Recent Weather Disaster; New Report Says Global Warming to Bring More Extreme Weather

Interactive Online Map Shows County-by-County Weather-Related Disaster History

Environment Maine

Portland, Maine—After a year that saw many parts of the country hit by scorching heat, devastating wildfires, severe storms and record flooding, a new Environment Maine report documents how global warming could lead to certain extreme weather events becoming even more common or more severe in the future.  The report found that, already, every Maine county has been hit by at least one federally declared weather-related disaster since 2006.

“Hundreds of thousands of Mainers have lived through extreme weather causing extremely big problems for Maine’s economy and our public safety,” said Anika James, Environment Maine Field Associate. “Given that global warming will likely fuel even more extreme weather, we need to cut dangerous carbon pollution now.”

The new report, entitled “In the Path of the Storm: Global Warming, Extreme Weather, and the Impacts of Weather-Related Disasters in the United States,” examined county-level weather-related disaster declaration data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for 2006 through 2011 to determine how many Mainers live in counties hit by recent weather disasters. The complete county-level data can be viewed through an interactive map. The report also details the latest science on the projected influence of global warming on heavy rain and snow; heat, drought and wildfires; and hurricanes and coastal storms.  Finally, the report explores how the damage from even non-extreme weather events could increase due to other impacts of global warming such as sea level rise.

Key findings from the Environment Maine report include:

• Since 2006, federally declared weather-related disasters affected all 16 Maine counties. Recent weather-related disasters in Maine included blizzards in December 2010, torrential rains in February 2010 that created record tidal surges, knocked out power to 133,000 homes and caused $5 million in damage, and Hurricane Irene, which damaged nearly 200 roads and a dozen bridges.
• In 2011 alone, federally declared weather related disasters affected 4 Maine counties housing 320,000 people. Nationally, the number of disasters inflicting more than $1 billion in damage (at least 14) set an all-time record last year, with total damages from those disasters costing at least $55 billion.
• Nationally, federally declared weather-related disasters have affected counties housing 242 million people since 2006—or nearly four out of five Americans.  
• Other research shows that the U.S. has experienced an increase in heavy precipitation events, with the rainiest 1 percent of all storms delivering 20 percent more rain on average at the end of the 20th century than at the beginning. The trend towards extreme precipitation is projected to continue in a warming world, even though higher temperatures and drier summers will likely also increase the risk of drought in between the rainy periods and for certain parts of the country.
• Records show that the U.S. has experienced an increase in the number of heat waves over the last half-century. Scientists project that the heat waves and unusually hot seasons will likely become more common in a warming world.
• Other research predicts that hurricanes are expected to become even more intense and bring greater amounts of rainfall in a warming world, even though the number of hurricanes may remain the same or decrease.  

Environment Maine was joined by Mayor Michael Brennan, City Councilor David Marshall and Red Cross Emergency Services Director Michael Mason in releasing the new report.

“Portland is working to reduce our carbon footprint and prepare for more weather disasters in the future, but there is still a lot of work to be done at the city, state, and national level,” said Mayor Brennan.

“Maine is no stranger to extreme weather and its destructive effects,” stated Dave Thompson, CEO of the Red Cross Humanitarian Services in Maine.  “Every day, the Red Cross is called upon and answers those calls for assistance from Mainers who are personally affected by the upheaval caused by events such as floods, ice storms, tornadoes, microbursts, and hurricanes.”  

“The Patriot’s Day Storm of 2007 shows the harsh impacts of weather on our public infrastructure and on private property,” said Councilor Marshall. “In order to mitigate the impacts of storm surges on our waterfront neighborhoods, the City of Portland is planning for future and will use policy tools such as zoning and capital planning.”

James noted that global warming is expected to have varying impacts on different types of extreme weather events. While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently concluded that it is “virtually certain” that hot days will become hotter and “likely” that extreme precipitation events will continue to increase worldwide, there is little scientific consensus about the impact of global warming on events such as tornadoes. In addition, every weather event is now a product of a climate system where global warming “loads the dice” for extreme weather, though in different ways for different types of extreme weather.

“Extreme weather is happening, it is causing very serious problems, and global warming increases the likelihood that we’ll see even more extreme weather in the future,” said James. “Carbon pollution from our power plants, cars and trucks is fueling global warming, and so tackling global warming demands that we cut emissions of carbon pollution from those sources.”

The report was released as the Obama administration is finalizing historic new carbon pollution and fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, and as the Environmental Protection Agency is poised to develop carbon pollution standards for coal-fired power plants—the largest single source of the carbon pollution that is fueling global warming. At the same time, some polluting industries and their allies in Congress are working to block these and other clean air standards.

“We applaud the Obama administration for the clean car standards they are finalizing, and urge EPA to move ahead with strong carbon pollution standards for coal-fired power plants,” said James.  “The extreme weather we suffered through in 2011 is a frightening reminder of why we must do everything we can to cut the dangerous carbon pollution that is fueling global warming, and lessen the threat of even worse extreme weather in the future.”

The report underscores the importance of Maine’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – the first-in-the-nation cap on carbon pollution from the power sector that sells permits for carbon emissions and has led to nearly $1 billion in investments in energy efficiency and clean energy solutions in the region.

“RGGI has been a key part of Maine’s strategy to reduce pollution from fossil fuels and shift to clean energy,” said James.