The Impact of Extreme Weather Events On Young Weather Enthusiasts

I know, super-long title this morning, but this is something I’ve felt like writing lately. Extreme weather events have a big impact on young weather enthusiasts. And, I can provide proof of this.

When a young weather enthusiast endures an extreme weather event, it will introduce bias to that enthusiast. When future extreme weather events roll around, they will look at it and compare it to the event they endured through. This is something I struggle with every winter and summer.

I went through the Ice Storm of January 2009 in western Kentucky. Thus, when someone says “Ice Storm” I immediately think of 1.5″-2″ of ice accumulation. Why? Because that’s how much freezing rain we received during that event. I still remember the widespread destruction of trees and utility poles that was scattered across western Kentucky. I also remember being without power for 12 days as we waited for power to be restored. I remember the death toll in teens from people using generators the wrong way, and poisoning themselves. I remember hearing the “crack”, “boom”, and “swoosh” of trees as they began to fall under the weight of the ice.

So how does this impact me as a forecaster now? I’m biased in using the term ice storm, despite its criteria. When an event rolls through anywhere and ice accumulations are anything less than what I received in 2009 I think “Meh, it’s not that bad.” When in reality just a glaze of ice can kill numerous people on a highway. 0.1″ of ice can knock out power, and 0.25″ of ice will bring down trees. But, I’m used to attributing the term “Ice Storm” to the January 2009 Ice Storm.

I do the same thing when I hear the term “derecho”. The first time I heard this term was in connection to the May 8, 2009 derecho that occurred over much of the middle of the country. This is the derecho of all derechoes. Who can forget that stellar radar image of the “eye” moving over southern Illinois? Or the wind reports well over 100 mph in that same area?

And still now, when a storm system is labeled as a “derecho”, I sit back and say, “Really? That was a derecho?” Why? Because the extreme event has biased my definition of what a derecho is. Both of these events occurred my freshman year of high school. I’m not sure how to solve the problem. Maybe time and experience itself is the only solution. But, I just felt like I should point out a flaw in myself. Now, I wonder if I’m not the only one that suffers from post extreme event bias.