Searchlight BOOKS Climate Change Climate Change and Extreme Storms Mary Dykstra Lerner Publications Minneapolis
4 Chapter 1 OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING Extreme storms get our attention Howling winds rip off roofs and knock down buildings Heavy rainfall floods entire neighborhoods Blizzards bring so much snow that schools close for days These weather events are especially large and dangerous And they are happening more often because of climate change Hurricanes are happening more frequently than in the past
5 Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused lots of damage Many homes and buildings were destroyed by strong winds and flooding Weather is what happens in the atmosphere around us every day Climate is the average weather in a place over many years The weather where you live might be cool and rainy today even though you live in a climate that is warm and dry Recent weather events worry many scientists Strong storms are happening more often Some are causing record damage In 2017 sixteen US weather events cost more than 1 billion each
