The 10 Worst Weather Disasters This Year and Why They Are Happening

from the AlterNet by Tara Lohan, September 12, 2011

We've already had 10 disasters topping $1 billion each and it's only September -- what gives?

Floodwaters remain threatening in parts of the Northeast. A cresting Susquehanna River caused evacuations late last week in Pennsylvania -- the culprit that time was tropical storm Lee, which came on the heels of Hurricane Irene. These days extreme weather is beginning to seem like the new normal in a year marked by disastrous events -- deadly tornadoes, raging floods, crippling drought and wildfire, massive hurricanes, and don't forget the great white-out of "snowpocalpyse."

All these events have taken their toll on the country, both in terms of human lives lost and the amount of damages incurred....So how bad have things been, and what's to blame? Let's take a look at the National Climatic Data Center's list of wreckage of the last nine months.  READ MORE.