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Texas has always been windy in Spring, but this year's blow just won't stop, and everybody is talking about it. Why? Because it is IN OUR FACES constantly, and there is no escaping it. The sustained 25 mph gusts, with regular surges to 40 mph, slams doors in your face before you can walk through them, snatches trash and paper bags out of your hands and launches them into oblivion, makes 18-wheelers sway like flagpoles, yanks plants right out of the ground, and evaporates water like a kid drinking a Slurpee. You can't even water your grass without the wind sucking away the spray. This has been going on since mid-February, and there appears to be no break in sight. These winds remind me of my childhood, of brothers penning me to the ground and thumping my chest until I screamed uncle...a steady thump, thump, thump that at first is funny, then annoying, then painful, and finally all you can think about.
UNCLE!
It doesn't help that the state is suffering its worst drought in 100 years, setting the stage for the perfect storm -- firestorm that is. Water-starved vegetation and strong winds make a dangerous combination, especially in the presence of low humidity and high temperatures, which we have. And in our modern world of combustion-everything, it is inevitable that we are going to see an ignition, and when we do -- which we did -- watch out. Now you know why Governor Rick Perry recently asked President Obama to declare 252 Texas Counties a Major Disaster. Indeed, the state is burning away, with more than 1.5 million acres burned, hundreds of homes destroyed, and two firefighters killed.
Meanwhile, the fires still burn.
Obviously, our epic winds are fanning the flames, and as of this writing, there appears to be no rain in sight. In fact, in a move that can only be taken seriously in the state of Texas, Governor Perry recently proclaimed a three day period for 'Days Of Prayer For Rain In The State'. I'm serious. Interestingly, just after his proclamation, the 20% chance for storms that we were under was reduced to zero. Guess the Gods have a different plan for the Lone Star State.
As if to communicate that nobody will be spared the wrath of the weather Gods, on Sunday, April 17, the City of Austin (my home town) experienced one of its worst wildfires in recorded history, destroying 10 homes and damaging twice that before firefighters could contain the blaze. The devastation was surreal -- some scene out of The Road or something -- with nothing but slabs, chimney stacks, and charred earth to mark the path of the firestorm.
And the winds keep on blowing.
Before you write all this off as an anomaly, you should know that scientists now agree that the world is getting windier, much windier in fact. According to oceanographers at the Australian National University in Canberra, we have seen a steady increase in top wind speeds over the earth in the past 23 years; in fact, the most extreme winds are now blowing more that 10% faster than in the past. The suspect is global warming, but that can't be proven. But it doesn't really need to be, because all you have to do is go outside to confirm the claim (don't wear a hat). Their prognosis is quite sobering too.... Expect storms and hurricanes of increasing intensity as the world continues to get windier.
So it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that at the same time Texas has been burning to the ground, the American Midwest and Eastern seaboard have been getting pummelled by tornadoes and storms of unbelievable intensity. Indeed, while I write this blog, the St. Louis airport stands closed for business due to damage from a tornadic cell.
Are all these events related? We can only speculate. But it does appear as if the world is becoming a much more rowdy place to live. Best to be prepared.
