Report: Extreme weather affected all Iowa counties from 2006 to 2011

The effects of extreme weather are still evident in Cedar Rapids, nearly four years after flooding devastated the city's core.

A new report released Thursday by Environment Iowa warns that severe storms will be more common in the future in Iowa and the rest of the nation.

The report, In the Path of the Storm: Global Warming, Extreme Weather, and the Impacts of Weather-Related Disasters in the United States, shows every county in Iowa was hit by a weather-related disaster at some point between 2006 and 2011.[pullout_quote credit="" align="right"]The complete county-level data can be viewed through an interactive map available here.[/pullout_quote]

Noticeably absent from an interactive map that accompanies the report are the floods of 2008 in Linn and Johnson counties.

At the time, the flood – which affected 10 square miles of Cedar Rapids and caused at least $2 billion in damages -  was considered the fifth worst natural disaster in the nation's history.

Jillian Hertzberg, Environment Iowa Federal Associate, said the report used data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“It has to do with the designation by FEMA,” Hertzberg said.

FEMA categorized the flood as a severe storm, which appears as such at the county-level of the map.

State climatologist Harry Hillaker said historical data on many types of storms is not well-documented.

“It's difficult to judge if we're having more severe weather,” Hillaker said. “It's just very hard to really know.”

Iowa's deadliest tornado happened in 1860 in Camanche, with 115 deaths in Iowa, but overall, Hillaker said comparisons of storms are difficult to make, especially with few, or variable, record-keeping systems.

FEMA designations can also be variable, he said, because disaster declarations sometimes can be political, with more coming during election years.

The report was released as the Obama administration finalizes new carbon pollution and fuel efficiency standards and as the Environmental Protection Agency is poised to develop carbon pollution standards for coal-fired power plants, which the group cites as the largest single source of pollution fueling global warming.

Alliant Energy spokesman Ryan Stensland said the company started preparing for eventual changes to emissions rules from the EPA more than two years ago.

Stensland said Alliant has already installed equipment at some of its plants and is working to install the equipment at others, though not every power plant will undergo significant change.

Alliant also is in the process of diversifying its power generation by adding wind power, more natural gas fired generation and cleaner coal, he said.

“Customers should know we are committed to supplying reliable, cost-effective power,” Stensland said in an email. “Cleaner power is more expensive and will increase the cost of electricity over time.”

Environment Iowa's report highlighted last year's Missouri River flooding, which caused an estimated $200 million in crop losses in western Iowa alone.

The report also details the latest science on the projected influence of global warming on heavy rain and snow; heat, drought and wildfires; and hurricanes and coastal storms.

Key findings from the Environment Iowa report include:

• Since 2006, federally declared weather-related disasters affected all 99 Iowa counties
• In 2011 alone, federally declared weather related disasters affected Iowa counties housing more than 600,000 people.  Nationally, the number of disasters inflicting more than $1 billion in damage (at least 14) set an all-time record last year, with total damages from those disasters costing at least $55 billion.
• Nationally, federally declared weather-related disasters have affected counties housing 242 million people since 2006-or nearly four out of five Americans.
• Other research shows that the U.S. has experienced an increase in heavy precipitation events, with the rainiest 1 percent of all storms delivering 20 percent more rain on average at the end of the 20

  ^th

  century than at the beginning. The trend towards extreme precipitation is projected to continue in a warming world, even though higher temperatures and drier summers will likely also increase the risk of drought in between the rainy periods and for certain parts of the country.

• Records show that the U.S. has experienced an increase in the number of heat waves over the last half-century. Scientists project that the heat waves and unusually hot seasons will likely become more common in a warming world.
• Other research predicts that hurricanes are expected to become even more intense and bring greater amounts of rainfall in a warming world, even though the number of hurricanes may remain the same or decrease.