Why Does US Lead the World in Weather Disasters?

The United States gets hit by some of the strongest and most destructive¹ storms on Earth.

Examples of extreme weather include hurricanes, tornadoes³, floods and droughts.

But the storms themselves are not the only problem. Weather experts say human choices about where and what to build are making the situation much worse.

Rick Spinrad heads the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁴ Administration. He told The Associated Press that "more extreme" weather events are expected to keep happening across the U.S. in coming years. International weather officials have partly blamed climate change for causing more severe storms.

Kathie Dello is a climatologist with the state of North Carolina. She told The Associated Press the main reason the U.S. gets many intense and destructive storms is because of geography. "It's truly a little bit ... unlucky," Dello said.

Susan Cutter is a geography professor at the University of South Carolina. She said a country like China has more people and land area than the United States. But, she added, "They don't have the same kind of clash⁵ of air masses as much as you do in the U.S. that is producing a lot of the severe weather."

The U.S. experiences by far more tornadoes and other severe storms than other countries, said Victor Gensini. He is a weather expert and professor at Northern Illinois University.

Gensini described a repeating weather pattern that leads to many strong U.S. storms. The pattern involves dry air from the western U.S. moving up over the Rocky Mountains. There, it crashes into warm, wetter air from the Gulf⁶ of Mexico.

Overall, the U.S. South experiences more severe weather than other parts of the country, said Marshall Shepherd. He is a former president of the American Meteorological Society.

Shepherd told the AP that areas in the South "can experience every single type of extreme weather event." These include wildfires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. "There's no other place in the United States that can say that," Shepherd said.

In the West, people face wildfires as well as a severe weather event known as an atmospheric river. Atmospheric rivers are long and wide areas of water vapor⁷ that form over an ocean. When atmospheric rivers reach land, they often release the water vapor in the form of rain or snow.

The U.S. Northeast experiences severe storms in the winter and hurricanes in the summer. Sometimes it experiences an unusual combination of both. "It is a reality that regardless of where you are in the country, where you call home, you've likely experienced a high-impact weather event..." Spinrad said.

But weather experts say even though geography puts Americans in the path of numerous intense storms, human activity can make the storms more destructive. One of the main problems is when communities permit development in areas with a high risk for storms and flooding.

In some cases, the experts say building standards have gone down in recent years, putting more structures at risk during severe storms, Shepherd said. In addition, poverty can make it difficult for people to prepare for and recover from disasters. This is also true for people in many other places of the world.

"Safety can be bought," noted⁸ Walker Ashley, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University. "Those that are well-to-do and who have resources can buy safety and will be the most resilient when disaster strikes," Ashley said.

He added, "Unfortunately that isn't all of us."

Words in This Story

tornado² – n. an extremely strong and dangerous wind that blows in a circle and can cause major destruction

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

geography – n. the study of all the countries of the world, as well as the surface of the Earth and the mountains and seas

pattern – n. a regular and repeated way in which something happens

vapor – n. many small drops of liquid that form in the air

high-impact – adj. having a large or powerful effect

well-to-do – adj. wealthy

resilient – adj. able to improve quickly after being hurt or ill

unfortunately – adj. unlucky or having bad effects

1 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

2 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

5 clash   

vi.冲突，不协调，砰地相撞；n.冲突，不协调

参考例句：

• There is a clash between two classes at 2 p.m. on Thursday.星期四下午两点有两堂课是冲突的。
• The pot came down on the stone floor with a clash.锅“当”地一声掉到石地上。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。