Changing Weather Patterns Become Personal

I just returned from a visit to Ireland.  This trip was my own personal pilgrimage to visit the sights, sounds, and the descendants of family and friends my great grandparents left in Devlaune, outside Belmullet, in County Mayo.    To my delight this journey has become the beginning of a renewed relationship between my family’s people and the folks in the Mullet who have been keeping the home fires burning all this time.  I took lots of notes and photos that will support a grand family tale.  However, the following tells the story of my trip in the context of an emerging global reality.

My flight to Shannon was scheduled to leave Boston for a connection in Newark on Thursday, January 2, 2014: day one of the snowstorm.    Flights were being delayed and cancelled, including mine to Newark.  United rebooked me on a Saturday flight that would leave Boston for Chicago to London and then finally to Shannon.  I believe my arrival was early 2015.  With super assistance from Expedia (shout out to my agent Oscar here), I was able to double team the call queue and secured an earlier flight to Newark where my connection to Shannon was still on time.

Moving the boats back into Blacksod Bay after Christine passes

The plane from Boston to Newark was covered in snow.  From the gate I could see that the windshield was clear only where the wiper blades hit.  The tarmac was white.  This was clearly a plow-able event.  While on board waiting the snow continued to significantly pile up.  Well past initial departure time the pilot announced that we were waiting for de-icing treatment.   We were still a “go” despite the deteriorating conditions.  The pilot followed up by saying this was a good time to use our cell phones to contact our loved ones… he paused… to let them know our arrival will be delayed.  Note to United – bad choice of words and rhythm.  While they get your attention, it’s not for the right reason.  The poor guy in the seat next to me made the sign of the cross and remained in prayer until we got in the air.

This was my first experience taking off in such a significant weather event as well as being on a plane that was being de-iced.  The equipment was impressive, and I learned later so is the cost.  Large crane-like vehicles power sprayed the solution all over, under, and around the plane.  The pilot noted that once the de-icing fluid was applied we needed to take-off soon after.  And so we did.

When we landed the snow had not yet reached Newark.  I still had seven hours before my next flight was scheduled to leave.  I watched the departure board turn red as the arriving snow grew steady and more flights were being cancelled.  My departure time, however, was holding.   But that too changed about 45 minutes before scheduled take-off.  It was moved back an hour, we boarded, we de-planed, we boarded again, and two hours later we took-off, but not before major de-icing procedures.

I landed in Shannon late Friday morning just after the first wave of storms that were the worst to hit Ireland in more than twenty years.  Coastal areas, particularly in the west, were hit by torrential rains, wind gusts exceeding 75 miles per hour, and wave heights up to 65 feet.   Superstorm Christine began on Thursday January 2 and came to an end on Tuesday January 7.

I planned to drive on Saturday from Limerick to Belmullet following a direct route along the coast and through Galway.   The hotel staff strongly encouraged me to take an inland route as news reports and updates from their family and friends indicated that many roads were impassable.   I prepared a new route that brought me through Athlone and Ballina.  I then needed to worry about the condition of N59 and R313, the roads from Ballina to Belmullet.   Thankfully, the drive was uneventful although standing waters in the roadways were common.  Once I reached Belmullet the effects of the storm were more apparent.  Roads along Broad Haven Bay had been undermined and seaweed and other debris were strewn about.

Storm swells at Blacksod Lighthouse

My destination on the Mullet Peninsula is surrounded by water with the open Atlantic on the west and Blacksod Bay and Broad Haven to the east.  For the next several days my travels were dictated by the waves of rains and winds relieved by periods of sun and calm, while back home in the northeast the Thursday and Friday snowstorm was followed by record breaking cold.

I have a tendency to experience things in the context of my public works consulting.   (Note to me:  stop that)  In Ireland, storm Christine displaced people, stranded communities, caused injuries, and resulted in power outages.  Early assessments of infrastructure damage included extensive roadway washouts, damage to buildings including washing away of the lighthouse on Inisboffin Island, undermining of flood prevention structures, and a huge sinkhole in Tramore.   Damage costs are estimated to exceed 300 million euros.  An editorial in the Saturday Irish Independent calls out that the Irish can’t ignore the fact that winter storms are getting longer and more damaging.

Yes...it's windy

These two weather events on either side of the Atlantic caused damage and deaths for, thankfully, a relative few.  The rest of us experienced varying degrees of disruption and annoyance.  It’s understood, no matter what the cause, that on a global level extreme storms are becoming stronger and more common.   These disruptions affect all of us.  Government resources are redirected to address emergency responses.  Travelers are stranded, rerouted, and delayed affecting families and business.   Industries experience losses because of operational shutdowns and delivery and shipping delays.   Schools are cancelled.  Medical appointments, cultural events, and social activities are postponed or cancelled.  Some of these seem minor, but what if they become the new norm?  Governments, to varying degrees, are incorporating climate change impacts into their infrastructure planning and emergency management, but are we, as individuals, ready to accept the effects of climate change into our lives?  Just something to think about.

Road damage in Belmullet from storm Christine.