New data out Friday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that there have been nine extreme weather events — each racking up more than $1 billion in losses — during the first half of 2017. An average year between 1980 and 2016 had just 5.5 major events, after adjusting for inflation.
That means we’ve already racked up more than a year’s worth of weather disasters in 2017 — the second-fastest pace in history.
Weather-wise, pretty much the whole country is a hot mess right now. In 20 states, regions experienced their warmest first half of the year on record; as of now, only Washington and Oregon are on pace for relatively normal…
