Scientist: Heat Waves in Pa. Getting Hotter, Longer

Shifting weather patterns will add to flooding problems in parts of state

By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
June 20, 2024
Posted in: Announcements

A smoggy haze covered McKeesport after wildfires swept parts of Canada, spreading smoke over much of the northeast United States. A climate scientist said freak weather events such as forest fires, severe thunderstorms and heat waves are becoming more common in Pennsylvania due to climate change. (Tube City Almanac file photo)

Summer officially arrives today, and a climate scientist is warning that future heat waves in Pennsylvania will be longer and hotter than the current one affecting much of the Mid-Atlantic region.

The National Weather Service in Moon Twp. has issued an excessive heat watch for Pennsylvania, including parts of east-central Ohio and the northern panhandle of West Virginia, through Saturday. The heat index is expected to reach 100 to 104 degrees every day this week.

Fiona Lo, climate scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, said climate change has increased and will continue to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heat waves in Pennsylvania.

“In the future, we’ll expect heat waves will likely be hotter, last longer and occur more often. And this will happen in Pennsylvania and all over the U.S. and likely over the globe,” Lo said. “This summer is predicted to be warmer than normal for Pennsylvania, and this is due to the shifting weather patterns from climate change.”

Lo points out that in addition to a heat wave in Pennsylvania, more frequent thunderstorms are expected, bringing lightning, heavy rain, hail and flash flooding. These intense downpours could also lead to worsened flooding throughout the state.

"Since 1958, Pennsylvania and all of the northeast region of the U.S. has experienced 60 percent increase in heavy rainfall, and that’s the largest in all of the U.S.,” she said.

She added that Atlantic hurricanes have also increased with climate change. Even though hurricanes don’t often hit Pennsylvania, the remnants of a hurricane and tropical storm can be felt up to 100 miles from the eye.

Lo said the consequences of flooding can impact health directly, such as drowning, injuries or powerlines in the water. For example, flooding can cause sewage to overflow and contaminate water, causing the transmission of diseases.

“Flooding can impact infrastructure,” she said. “Erosion of roads, bridges, damage and disruption to transportation. And the impact on transportation means you might have less access to basic services such as health and food.”

Other events triggered by extreme weather patterns include an increased risk of wildfires, such as widespread forest fires in Canada last year that caused air pollution in the Northeast and Pennsylvania last year.

Lo said in addition to heat stress, flooding and changes in flowering cycles, warming disrupts agriculture. And the strain on infrastructure from heat waves can overload power grids from increased air conditioning use, which may require upgrades for better resilience, she said.

Danielle M. Smith is a producer for Public News Service, where this story first appeared. An award-winning radio journalist/personality with more than a decade of experience in broadcast media, she is a former audio journalist with American Urban Radio Networks and Sheridan Broadcasting Networks who also hosts a weekly community affairs show “Good News” on WGBN (1360 AM/98.9 FM).

Originally published June 20, 2024.

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