OT I always thought Florida was a state with dangerous weather

17 comments

• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  I wouldn't have guessed those states either! I would have guessed Florida, California, and Kansas for Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Tornadoes, oh my!
  
  (Edit: I'm in slight agreement with the comments section, though, take away for Federal Supplemental Heating Assistance programs, and cold related deaths due to freezing, flu, or pneumonia for elderly would topple the list, maybe. Ask our resident anti-progressives, welfare is for pussies.)
• skibum609

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  7 years ago

  More people die of weather related issues in rural areas. Flu is no greater in cold areas than in warm areas since its a virus. The reason more people get it in cold weather is more people are indoors in closed in buildings and not dispersed outside. Heat assistance is for people who don't save and don't live in one of the more charitable states, not pussies.
• sharkhunter

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  7 years ago

  I came close to getting killed in NC by a tornado. It went over my head.
  I saw Mt St Helens erupting in Washington state.
  Massive flooding and lots of recent tornado damage in several states.
  Weather can be very exciting.
  I've also been temporarily blinded by lightning. That's scary too. I suspect it was lightning from a super cell but I never saw a storm before that was so intense that lightning stopped flashing but just stayed on like a gigantic spaceship was parked over the whole town. The light outside was a lot brighter than daylight.
  
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  Interesting, an even handed post by skibum that sounds like something I would write. And using science, how that is downright progressive of him. To read his other posts you think he was against charity, welfare, and transfer payments. I know the "left" doesn't have the monopoly on charity or empathy but still.
  
  A lot of cold, rural states don't make the list (like plains states) and the Nevada numbers cited were like 50 heat deaths in one year. I don't know what the cold deaths without charity would look like but my gut says 50 is a low number to eclipse and there are big, cold, rural areas out there. But my intuition could be wrong there.
  
  Also flu season appears more acutely in the winter months in the north, possible explanations are the low humidity and cold weather, since the virus does appear to incubate longer in cold dry environments than warm, humid ones or even warn, dry ones. In warm environments the season appears to follow after the transition from dry season to rainy season, partly because of the incubation in the dry times, plus as you mention in rainy season people tend to huddle indoors. But still the flu season does seem more acute in cold areas.
• shadowcat

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  7 years ago

  Florida does take the #1 spot for number of lightening strikes.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  --> "assistance is for people who don't save and don't live in one of the more charitable states, not pussies."
  
  With all due respect sir, don't you really dig progressives and stop just short of calling them stupid? Your normal posts come across as the tone of very little humility or compassion. So a statement like this, quite frankly, is a pleasant surprise. Maybe you and I aren't so far apart?
• JAprufrock

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  7 years ago

  Some surprises on that list. Before viewing it, I would have guessed California (earthquakes), Arizona and Texas (heat), Louisiana (flooding). New York and Minnesota (blizzards) and Tornado Alley (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska).
• minnow

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  7 years ago

  Figures lie and liars figure. Try using per capita property damage payments, and the list will look different. Several states listed in weather deaths studies are lower income than average, thus more trailer parks, and flimsy houses. Also sparsely populated states have fewer and more distant weather reporting stations, and thus less likelihood of adequate warning and up to date info. Try getting a homeowners insurance quote in Nevada, and some of the states listed vs FL, then get back with me.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  Thanks, minnow those statement intuitively make a lot of sense. I might also think that rural states like that might not vote so conservative at the federal level as I might think they like federal disaster assistance money unless they already have enough financial resources on their own. Though if they last adequate weather station coverage that doesn't suggest they do have those resources (existing on the charity of others). That runs counter to the bootstrap mentality, self-made people, no?
  
  Also isn't insurance policing also based on credit score, too?
  
  Thanks for the post!
• joker44

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  7 years ago

  Minnow +1 Lots of ways to 'measure' worst weather leading to different rankings.
  
  'Tornado Alley' Lower pop density in Kansas; Missouri has large, spread out cities [KC, StL] subject to river flooding, tornadoes and severe storms. People here often ignore severe weather / tornado warnings until it's too late because we get so many alerts throughout the season.
  
  Several times over a 6 hour period we've had up to a half dozen watches and warnings active at the same time.
  
• Jascoi

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  7 years ago

  after surviving dangerous arizona for 43 years i'm slowly moving to a much safer state. cali. then after a while hopefully to 'dangerous' tijuana.
• twentyfive

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  7 years ago

  I thought that this was a real eye opener to be honest BTW @minnow the point wasn't political the figures were compiled using weather related deaths as a percentage of the population than recalculated to deaths per million.
  @Dominic I agree @skibum has almost become a progressive (gasp) lately yesterday he even cracked two jokes and called the president a Dickweed, I like the change in him, hope it keeps up.
• jackslash

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  7 years ago

  When you live in Detroit, tornadoes and floods and earthquakes hold no terror for you.
• skibum609

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  7 years ago

  Most people of different political persuasions aren't as far apart as they seem. One mistake Progressives make is assuming that people against welfare, against illegal and/or legal immigration, affirmative action etc. do so out of hatred, when in fact there are valid reasons. It results in assuming political beliefs mirror personal beliefs and by that I mean that I believe in many things that are not in my own personal benefit. As an older person any and all increases in social security and medicare would benefit me, but I oppose both as unfair to the young. I am against all immigration because at no time in our history, since the mid 1800's have we had as many foreign born citizens and we are becoming something other than America as a result. I oppose racism. That includes government sponsored racism such as affirmative action, which in the end has really only benefited well-educated white women anyway, who are actually not a minority, but the single largest group in America. I have made it plain I hate Trump, but having said that, any party that has Keith Ellison as their titular head, falls somewhere between hated opponent and enemy.
• rockstar666

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  7 years ago

  If I chose where to live for weather I would be in a Chicago burb...but when we think of dangerous weather in general we seem to forget that heat kills more people than all other weather events combined. The only surprise to me in the top 10 was Kentucky.
• shadowcat

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  7 years ago

  I know a guy that lives in Homestead FL. His home was destroyed by hurricane Andrew in 1992. His home was rebuilt but a home owners policy is now so expensive that he is self insured.
• twentyfive

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  7 years ago

  @shadowcat, Homeowners policies here in the state of Florida are outrageously expensive, by the same token the cost of property has gone up a tremendous amount since 1992, even allowing for the bubble, if you are on the west coast of Florida it is much cheaper. I assume you are talking about Clubber we have had this conversation a few times.