Chaotic Weather Expands Texas Disaster Declarations

(TNS) – In recent weeks, the weather in Texas has taken on a new modern-day meaning of the Wild West, with heavy rain and flooding in East Texas, heavy rain and epic-size hail in Central Texas, heavy rainfall and tornadoes in North and West Texas, and record heat temperatures in many areas, especially in South Texas.

The intense weather outbursts, which started on April 26 and have since occurred in different variations throughout the state, have had Gov. Greg Abbot to issue the first of a series of amended state disaster declarations for the Texas counties impacted, and the list of counties is extensive. The governor just added six more counties June 6 to a new amended state disaster declaration, and those include Bailey ,Bowie, Cass, Midland, Red River, and Terrell, with the possibility of more added counties as wild weather and damage assessments continue.

The effects of climate change are here, according to NASA. “Future effects for the entire nation will include stronger and more intense hurricanes, more droughts and heat waves, longer wildfire seasons and changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more,” along with a hefty price tag in emergency response.

In the natural disaster reports for 2023, NOAA reported that 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters occurred, making last year the highest number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. on record. This surpassed the previous high record of 22 events in 2020.

“The U.S. was hit with more billion-dollar disasters in 2023 than any other year on record, highlighting the increasing risks from our changing climate,” said Deke Arndt , NOAA Nation Centers for Environmental Information director in the report. “Record heat waves, drought, wildfires, and floods are a sobering reminder of the consequences of the long-term warming trend we’re seeing across our country.”

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