The summer of 2021 brought unprecedented severe weather to Southeastern Pennsylvania. There were more severe storms, flooding,

and strong tornadoes than any year in recent memory. While it's impossible to say that any single storm has resulted from human-induced climate change, it seems weather patterns are changing. According to scientists in the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, a warming climate will produce stronger hurricanes. For this project I set out 2 months after the storm to look at one aspect of how strengthening hurricanes had direct effects on the local  landscape.

 

The Upper Dublin/Horsham tornado, part of the remnants of Hurricane Ida, touched down outside Philadelphia on September 1st, 2021, and cut an 8-mile path through the densely populated Philadelphia suburbs. It was one of several powerful tornadoes to hit the area, which was also inundated with record-setting rainfall. As a result, some formerly tree-lined suburban streets were opened to the sun, and homes sat waiting for demolition or repair 2 months later. People were in the process of rebuilding, but the neighborhoods affected and the landscape around them were forever changed. In a location where these types of storms are unusual, that summer was a wake-up call for many in this region that weather patterns are changing, and natural disasters that were once rare may become more common. It also made me infinitely more aware of how nature can reshape the landscape in an instant.