New report on increase in extreme weather

8:28 PM, Feb 22, 2012   |    comments
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  • PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It was appropriate that Environment Maine picked a 50 degree day in February to release it's new report on global warming and how it is causing, and it believes will continue to cause, extremes in our weather.

    The advocacy group released a map showing that over the last 5 years, every county in Maine has been struck by at least one weather related disaster. That includes  blizzards, torrential rains and flooding.

    York and Lincoln Counties  have the most, at 7 such major events.

    The group's report outlines increases extreme weather events all over the country, and looks at scientific projections that those will  become more common and more severe as the earth gets warmer.

       The report concludes  that global warming will bring more frequent heavy downpours, snowfall, heat waves, unusually hot seasons, and  that hurricanes will be  more intense, and bring more precipitation.

    Last year, Hurricane Irene hit Maine. That storm helped make 2011 was a record setting year nationally for the number of storms that caused damage of more than one billion dollars.

    Environment Maine says this underscores the need to cut carbon emissions, which it  believes is the cause of global warming.

    Environment Maine has put an interactive map on-line so people can see detailed weather information on each county. 

    NEWS CENTER