Wow! This has been the best autumn I can remember and I’m no youngster. Yes, 9/11 was one of the most beautiful days to remember as far as the weather but the worst day in the history of our nation. Getting back to the present, as 2024 winds down so much is happening with a new president elect and lots of changes all around the nation hopefully for the better.

To wake up repeatedly to the same beautiful weather day after day, week after week could lull a person into thinking we are living in a paradise. No rain, slight breezes, temperatures between sixty and seventy degrees, and crunchy leaves on the ground all lead to a formula for a perfect fall. Some say it has to do with climate change, global warming and such beliefs and I truly wish we could just thank the one above for giving us such wonderful weather to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

However, all is not well here in the northeastern side of America. Here on Long Island where we live, we are near the beach and have access to plenty of water and the grass is still a summery green. So, a few weeks ago the term drought would never enter our lexicon. Unfortunately, drought is the new reality with red alerts coming up on the phone along with the forecast of partly sunny, light breezes and low humidity.

Watery eyes and sneezing are not necessarily signs of typical hay fever allergy prevalent at this time of year. Walking out of the house in the morning on the way to work, while we are appreciating and admiring the sunny and warm weather we are also greeted by the smell of smoke. Thank goodness we have not experienced direct hits of drought induced fires but they are close enough in New Jersey and other adjacent venues for us to realize that it could happen close to home.

What Causes Drought?

The absence of rain or snow is not the entire definition of drought. The lack of precipitation has to be accompanied by unusually high temperatures and low humidity. In the summer hot temperatures are often combined with high humidity making it hard to enjoy the fresh air but the high humidity protects us from fires due to high temperatures. The lack of rain, rising temperatures and low humidity are the ingredients necessary for drought conditions.

Drought All Over Our Country

Excluding Kentucky and Alaska, the whole United States has experienced drought conditions since the last week of October. According to the New York Times, this October has been recorded as the driest since rain levels record keeping began in 1869, and citizens of the affected cities have been asked to voluntarily conserve water. The last time there was a really healthy rain downpour in the Northeast was in late September.

New Jersey has been plagued with fires which the firefighters are finding impossible to keep at bay because as soon as the firefighters successfully extinguish the flames in one area fires pop up somewhere else. According to AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty, the drought torn areas would need as much as seven inches of rain to dispel this dry spell, and forecasters have not predicted that much rain. There was a sprinkling of rain called, “wetting rain” which does help firefighters to extinguish the many fires that were burning in the parks around the cities but one tenth of an inch measured is not enough to cancel the drought. We need lots more rain to dispel this extreme drought.

People may wonder why the rain that fell during Hurricane Helene would not have helped ease the drought in the affected states. During a hurricane the deluge will make it harder for the ground to soak up the water to store it for the future. Our reservoirs are currently below two thirds capacity, which is in stark contrast to the normal autumn range of three- quarters full.

What is the Definition of Extreme Weather?

Any severe weather conditions that differentiate from normal climate models are called extreme. People who believe in climate change blame it on extreme weather patterns such as floods, heatwaves, severe storms and hurricanes. They believe that due to climate change temperatures can rise significantly in places such as Arizona causing a rise in temperatures.

Heatwaves put a lot of pressure on HVAC systems by making them work harder than they might be manufactured to operate with longer hours and higher energy use. Extreme weather can mean different things in different regions, and different times of the year.

For a country, state or city that’s been having lots of rainfall a drought could not affect them negatively. A short heatwave in a cold climate may be a blessing for those people who hate cold weather. However, flooding, hurricanes and fires are not welcomed by any climate or region. No one wants a hurricane but certain states such as Florida are more equipped to handle such extreme weather developments. Most Floridian homes have special shutters, hurricane proof windows and many homes do not have basements, so flooding is decreased. Even so, no one wants hurricanes coming to their area, especially the devastating ones we experienced this summer.

Red Flag Warning, Gusty Winds and Fires

It’s such a beautiful evening and since it’s still early you agree to take your four-year-old son for a walk around the neighborhood. Being the big strong guy that you are you easily flip your son onto your shoulders and head out the front door. Immediately, your eyes start to burn and your son remarks about the strong smell of smoke wondering if someone is having a barbeque in mid-November. You recall reading about wildfires in California, but you have not heard about any in your New York suburban neighborhood.

Your son is excited because there are so many fallen leaves and the ground, and he begins stepping strongly on them remarking how these leaves are the crunchiest leaves he has even stepped on in his short life. With the gardener not coming more than once a week even a normal wind can blow those dry leaves off the trees easily. Your son is having a ball and remarks that he remembers last year the leaves were soft and hardly made any noise as he stepped on them. This of course was due to a normal amount of rain which keeps the leaves moist and fire resistant. With no substantial rainfall the leaves just get crispier and crispier.

As your eyes start burning you shorten your walk to the disappointment of your son who has begun coughing. He does have a touch of asthma, but it has not stirred for many months. As you enter your house you hear the phone ringing and catch it before it goes to voicemail. It’s your brother in New Jersey calling to tell you about the string of recent wildfires in his usually quiet neighborhood.

Blazing gusts of winds propel the fires to expand their damage from one area to the next. It could be an open field, a park or someone’s backyard, as long as there are gusts of wind to propel the fire. Fallen dry leaves from the trees are just perfect to grow the fire after it ignites and the wind then blows them from area to area extending the parameters of the fire.

In Passaic and Orange Counties, New Jersey fires have spread to 3,000 acres of land with only ten percent of the fires under control by the dedicated firefighters. Tragically, a member of the New York State Park system was killed while he was attempting to clear leaves and dried wood in one of the parks. He did not get burned but sadly died when a dried out tree fell on him.

Not only are these fires a physical menace to parks and properties, but the air quality becomes unsatisfactory. New York City and the vicinity were the recipients of the smoke from the New Jersey wildfires and air quality advisories were propping on the phones called Red Flag Alerts. People were asked to spend less time outdoors in spite of the beautiful and breezy weather.

Final Words

Extreme anything is not good for a person. Whether it’s too much eating or too much alcohol consumption or G-D forbids drug abuse, extreme activities should be approached with caution. Extreme sports are played with much vigor and devotion and the element of danger makes it more exciting and daring. Extreme weather conditions, whether it’s floods or fires, are dangerous and deadly for the population and for the devoted men and women who come to the rescue when necessary. During the recent hurricanes, folks were warned to leave their homes, many did but some did not, risking not  only their lives but those of the rescue teams coming to their aid.

With the dangerous wildfires that are raging now there is not much to do except pray for rain which folks in other countries such as Israel must do. We have not come across this danger of wildfires in recent times and have shown disappointment when the sun is not shining, and the rain is pouring down. Now we realize the reason for rain is not only in springtime for the flowers but any time of year to protect the communities we live in from dangerous wildfires.