One extreme to the other.
There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground with our weather these days.
Going from severe drought less than three months ago to overflowing water everywhere is just bizarre.
It seems the transitions from one season to another are gone from what we used to know. It was always nice after a longer, hot and dry summer to have an intermittent period of continued good weather with the expected change to rainy days as fall approached.
September this year had far more rainfall than usual so that adjustment period just hasn’t existed. October rainfall was slightly less, but still significant and we already know the total for November is going to be through the roof with this nasty weekend just behind us and there’s still about a dozen days left in the month.
So what does it all mean and where does it leave us?
The words climate change keep coming up and, whether you’re a believer or not, it seems there are certainly factors at work that have led to these crazy weather events we’re having, including numerous days of high winds throughout the year that we never used to experience in such abundance.
In the big picture, flood control, prevention and planning has never been more important. This cannot keep happening in the Halalt First Nation land and the Westholme region, including Russell Farm Market on the Trans Canada Highway and the lower parts of Mount Sicker Road, that are being heavily impacted.
There is much remediation work that needs to be done on the Chemainus River. It was merely a trickle in late August and now is spilling its banks with a fury unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
There’s no more time to talk about solutions and engage with people about what might be done. Actions always speak louder than words and some serious work has to be completed to fix these recurring problems.
Peoples’ homes and livelihoods, already affected enough by COVID, are impacted. We thought dealing with the virus has been crazy during the past 20 months, but keeping our never-ending eyes on the skies to see what’s coming from the atmosphere next is becoming a strange occurrence in our daily lives.