Saturday: Cuomo tours flood-stricken areas Upstate
Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke about storm damage during a visit to keene Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Brian Mann)
Governor Andrew Cuomo was in Keene today to cut the ribbon at the new fire hall, built after Tropical Storm Irene destroyed the old fire house – but he is also touring communities hit hard by Friday’s heavy rain.
In brief comments, Cuomo said that one person had died in the floods in the Mohawk valley, calling the situation serious. He planned to tour parts of Hamilton and Herkimer counties later on Saturday.
Cuomo said that extreme weather events are happening far more often in New York and said that one of his priorities would be to continue preparing communities for storms like Irene and Sandy.
Cuomo connected the dots between these events and climate change, which he said was scientifically proved. Cuomo noted that some people have “politicized” global warming as an issue but said the time had come for pragmatic action.
Meanwhile, communities from Johnsburg to Elizabethtown in the Adirondacks continue to clean up following the storm, with bridges and roads damaged by Friday’s surge of rain water.
We’ll have full coverage of the storm’s aftermath, and of the ceremony at the Keene Fire Hall, Monday during Morning Edition and the 8 O’clock Hour on NCPR.
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I’d like to see if there really is an increase in frequency or a re-location of the “extremes” for a time. I’ve seen the damage of the previous flooding in Keene and Ausable where two storms within a year made a mess.
Thursday afternoon I was fishing under an overpass in a Pennsylvania lake created for flood control due to Hurricane Agnes flooding in 1972. The rain was a deluge for more than an hour and the wind kept us toward the leeward side as its 20mph speed blew it under. Tornadoes were later spotted west of the location and east of the location. It reminded me of standing inside the cave of the winds at Niagara falls. Meanwhile we heard many emergency vehicles respond to what we later learned were road closures due to local flooding like that described above. I am aware of a bunch of similar flood control facilities in Pennsylvania constructed due to flooding in April of 1936. The corps of engineers had many decades of dam building fun. That same year I believe there was a large hurricane that hit Rhode Island.
The sun has had a few burps this year but has overall been quieter than would be expected in the solar cycle.
But, my point is, like the wavering of the jet stream, do the streaks of storms vary? For about 3 out of 4 years more than a usual number of early snowstorms tracked through Washington, DC then up the coast. We’ve had less snow in the last 4-5 years, perhaps it went south.
Good break from the fishing trip.