While California is experiencing its worst drought in more than a millennium, South Carolina was subject to extreme flooding in October and western wildfires have burned more than 9 million acres of land this year, one group aims to bring forewarning of extreme weather conditions closer to home.
Environment Virginia, a research and policy center out of Richmond, says weather-related disasters have been declared in all 50 states over the past five years and more than 40 million Americans live in counties that were affected by five or more weather disasters.
In fact, an interactive map the group created shows that 91 percent of Virginia residents live in cities or counties affected recently by weather-related disasters.
“We used to think of climate change as a problem that would happen someday, somewhere,” says Lilias Gordon, the group’s global warming solutions manager in a press release. “But as this map helps demonstrate, global warming is happening now, and it’s already hitting close to home.”
Luckily, Charlottesville and Albemarle County have only been marked with two snowstorms and one severe storm each, from the years 2007 to 2012. Here’s looking at you, Snowpocalypse of December 2009, and your two feet of heavy, white powder.
King and Queen County, just a few counties over on the east coast, is marked with two hurricanes and two severe storms.
Check out the map here.