By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

Mother Nature is so unpredictable.  Just watch a couple of TV weather forecasters as they struggle to predict the overnight temperatures.  

Often, they are off.  Sometimes way off.  Why?  They have all these computers, weather satellites, doppler radar, and a variety of other tools yet they struggle to get it right.  It’s because Mother Nature has a mind of her own.

We have had temperatures ranging from the 20s to the 50s in the same week—actually over just a couple of days.  Is it all about climate change?  Were forecasters more or less accurate back in the day before all the weather forecasting tools were at their disposal?  

Look to the west coast where Californians have recently suffered enormous loss because of Santa Ana winds blowing killer winds their way.  These desert winds are often referred to as “devil winds”.  Sadly, there’s no way to control these winds that give birth to massive blazes which have destroyed homes, businesses, churches, libraries, and entire communities.  

It seems we are in a constant battle with nature.  Think about Hurricane Helene that blew from the Gulf Coast to the North Carolina mountains.  Who knew that a hurricane could decimate mountain areas?  And yet it did. The landscape has changed, and the residents’ lives are forever changed.  

I remember several summers back in the 1980s and 1990s when high temperatures were recorded at 100-plus several days in a row.  I also remember a few Christmas holidays when we were in short-sleeve clothing.  

We are at the mercy of nature.  There’s no controlling the winds, the rains, the storms, the heat.    We would hope that with all the technology in play, the forecasting would serve us better as we attempt to prepare for nature’s wrath.  

The weather complexities have continued to baffle the trained weather forecasters and have further served to frustrate the homeowners and property owners when it comes to insurance.  Look at the many residents and businesses that have been dropped by their insurance companies.  We are advised that having insurance should be a part of our disaster recovery plan. 

Insurance is a risky business, literally.  There’s also FEMA.  But my personal observation is that FEMA is not the remedy for these weather disasters.  There’s never enough funding and resources to cover the losses.  And you may or may not have a good experience when you file a claim with your insurance company.

According to an article I read by Marcus Ryu and Adam Piasecki  “Natural disasters costing over $1 billion have increased in frequency from 13.1 per year in the 2010’s to over 20 per year over the last 5 years. We see broad consensus among climatologists and insurers that the frequency, severity and impact of these events will increase in the years to come, making next-generation forecasting technologies even more critical.” 

If their predictions are accurate, where does that leave insurance companies?  How about FEMA?  How can we possibly protect and/or replace our possessions given that nature clearly has the upper hand?  

So, let’s continue to hope that our government will step up to help make citizens whole again when a disaster strikes.  FEMA needs revamping and more funding.  I’m not laying blame on the weather forecasters.  They are doing the best they can.  Let’s just hope that Mother Nature settles down and gives us a chance to go about our lives without more natural disasters.