Hoping the hot days are coming to an end

Thus far, the weather has been one to take a toll on many of us in the U.S. And the world. The weather has always been a topic during the day, but it is one topic that many are dealing with, not just here in Holly Springs but around the nation.

We have had to deal with many severe storms, heavy rains, and hot, hot temperatures throughout our area, and that was just this summer. Before summer, we dealt with the coldest temperatures, an ice storm, and all the catastrophic problems that come with it. But this summer, I believe, has been the hottest. Especially this past month. I believe it has been the hottest. Many residents have dealt with the power outages and the heat just adds on to the frustrations. Holly Springs Utility Department not keeping up the clearing of the right-of-ways added to some of the issues and still does in some areas. People today are dealing with outages, which puts them in sweltering homes or workplaces. But, HSUD is working on that issue and hopefully moving forward to provide reliable utilities to its customers.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, in 2023 (as of August 8), there have been 15 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. These events included one flooding event, 13 severe storm events, and one winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 113 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. It seems like the South is taking on the brunt of all the weather/climate disasters, but it has affected many other states.

But what is the weather costing our nation?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that seven U.S. Weather disasters with damage of at least $1 billion have already happened this year, and five of the seven were five separate severe thunderstorms and tornadoes through March and mid-April in the South and central midwest. Quite a few have hit Mississippi.

In Vermont and New Hampshire, communities dealt with destructive flooding. Drought conditions exist in midwestern states like Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Texas. This will impact the agriculture sector across the affected states because of the damaged field cross from lack of rainfall. It has been reported that some ranchers have been forced to sell off livestock early in some regions due to high feeding costs. We will all feel the effects of this drought with high food costs.

I hope that the hurricane season is not as active. California took the first hit from Hurricane Hillary. Hurricanes usually are more costly than other disasters. Last year, Hurricane Ian inflicted a cost of $114 billion, according to a NOAA report.

The combined total of the 2023 disasters, thus far, is $19 billion, according to NOAA.

Let’s keep our nation in our prayers and hope the temps come down and the hurricanes are few because we’ve all had enough bad weather thus far.