Whenever I open up the news app or switch on the news, there’s always a headline about a catastrophic weather event; the deep freeze in Chicago, 2019, and Texas, 2021; Hurricane Isaias, 2020; Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean; fatal monsoons in Pakistan, 2020, and the list continues. Families lost, economies destroyed, and ecosystems uprooted from these natural disasters are sounding alarms across the world, bringing more attention to the climate crisis and much needed behavioral changes. The Adirondacks are far from immune to extreme natural disasters, both in the past and present, and their aftermaths have left deep scars on economies and ecosystems, still apparent even decades later.

In the second half of the 20th century, there were three unusual storms that left lasting impacts on the Adirondacks: “The Big Blow” (1950), Derecho (1995), and the Ice Storm (1998). “The Big Blow” of 1950 was a cyclonic storm that hit the Adirondacks after the storm had “tracked over the Appalachians, where hurricanes aren’t supposed to go” (Jenkins). This storm severely impacted “softwoods and hardwoods” in the western Adirondacks (Jenkins). The next was “Derecho” in 1995, a cluster of violent thunderstorms with a “six-hundred-mile path and ten-hour life” (Jenkins). Three years later, “The Ice Storm” of 1998 was perhaps the most severe and unexpected storm of them all. This slow moving frontal storm dumped the “largest ice build-up of any storm on record” and damage was felt from as north as “central Quebec to New England, and from Ontario to east Maine” (Jenkins). Figure 1 below demonstrates the severity of the three storms’ impacts on the Adirondacks, estimating that up to 30% of the park faced significant damage.

The Adirondacks have seen some unfathomable storms in the 21st century as well, the most notable among them is Hurricane Irene in 2011. In the midst of Hurricane Irene, rivers and streams overflowed, homes and roads choked under half a foot of rainfall (Bradley). The Atmospheric Science Research Center (ASRC), located at the top of Whiteface Mountain, “recorded 7.5 inches of rain” from Irene (Reed). Figures 2 and 3 demonstrate the horrifying damage Irene ensued on the Adirondacks.

Damage done by such storms are not only felt during or in the immediate aftermath, yet they leave lasting scars on the communities and ecosystems they plow through. Randy Douglas, Town of Jay supervisor and the Chair of the Essex County Board of Supervisors, was interviewed by the WAMC Northeast Public Radio in August of this year. Even ten years after Irene, Douglas continues to experience the impacts of Irene, stating, “when I ride around and I see the loss of the homes, the loss of the residents, the loss that our people suffered, that’s the part that saddens me the most” (Bradley). On the environmental part of the equation, not only were rivers redirected and mountain regions reshaped by landslides but riverbanks were flooded with trash and over 1,100 oil spills were recorded (Mann).

Since the middle of the 20th century, the Adirondack Park has faced numerous catastrophic storms, leaving deep cuts in its economies and ecosystems. People in the Adirondacks were not prepared for any of these storms and felt major consequences as a result. Unfortunately, these unprecedented weather variations are inevitable, and will continue to be for generations. The question is not whether these storms are going to happen, but how prepared we will be in the event these storms come bulldozing in.

Works Cited

Bradley, Pat. “A Look Back at Tropical Storm Irene’s Impact in the Adirondacks.” WAMC, 27 Aug. 2021, www.wamc.org/news/2021-08-27/a-look-back-at-tropical-storm-irenes-impact-in-the-adirondacks.

Jenkins, Jerry, and Andy Keal. The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park. Syracuse University Press, 2004.

Mann, Brian. “Post-Irene Cleanup May Damage Environment.” NPR, NPR, 14 Sept. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/09/14/140461854/post-irene-cleanup-may-damage-environment.

Reed, Joann S. “Hurricane Irene Damages in the Adirondacks.” Adirondack Lifestyle, Adirondack Lifestyle ™, 29 Aug. 2011, adirondacklifestyle.net/2011/08/hurricane-irene-damages-in-the-adirondacks/.