Killer Tornadoes in Alabama, Missouri and Massachusetts, Devastating Floods from Louisiana up to Canada, Killer Wirefires in the Southwest and Florida and we have not even officially kicked off hurricane season yet! 2011 has been a year to remember or forget when it comes to weather disasters.
Since it is closer to home, I am going to expand on the incredible weather phenomenon we had on June 1st in Western Massachusetts where we were devastated by a bunch of F3 tornadoes. The weather pattern is in one of those once in a lifetime patterns where you would witness a rare occurrence of tornadoes of this intensity in New England. We had a cool spring and there was a lot of heat to southwest of us and it just so happened that the jet stream that normally would be in the Midwest was right over southwestern New England that day. As a result, businesses and residential properties in Greater Springfield suffered astronomical damage that may never be recoverable. On top of that, most of these business and homeowners did not have enough property insurance to cover the damage and essentially lost everything they had in a matter of minutes. Like they said about property insurance, it is a nice to have and not essential... well, do you think the fine folks of Greater Springfield are thinking about that now?
New England also has the benefit and the risk of living right on the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, living near the ocean brings the risk of hurricanes. I personally have not been affected by a real hurricane since Hurricane Bob in Rhode Island back in 1991. What I do remember is the significant damage all around that part of New England. Hurricanes are one of those type of storms that people tend to not take as seriously since we don't have them as often as a tornado, even in New England. But they need to be taken seriously especially this year. 2011 is the year of extremes. We are experiencing some of the hottest weather ever in the Central and Southern part of the country and still have a cool/damp pattern north and east of us in Canada and Greenland. It is a classic pattern for creating volatile weather conditions.
So, with all of this in mind, it may be a good time to check that insurance policy or get a quote. Since it would really be awful if you lost everything you worked for because of a freak weather even in our part of the world.
