A Note on the Texas Flooding

I would be remiss if the first thing I blogged about today was not the recent devastating flooding in the Hill Country of Texas. I am sure I join with all of the Capital Region in expressing my condolences to the affected families. This is a tragic mass casualty event that raises challenging theological questions and stirs deep anxiety about America's climate change leadership. But it is also a time to appreciate human survival, resourcefulness and resilience. The National Weather Service did predict this event, it did get out flash flood emergency alerts, and many lives were surely saved as a result. We don't know how many lives are saved each year by our emergency alert system. How many lives will be saved in future years as we improve on our short, medium, and long-range modeling? This is not a time to beat ourselves up over poor weather and climate forecasting. This is a time to honor our first responders and fairly recognize our forecasting strengths and weaknesses as we build back better (cf. Are Donald Trump's NOAA Cuts to Blame for Texas Flood Tragedy? What To Know | Newsweek). May God bless and hold President Trump, the great state of Texas, and the Republican party accountable with transformative climate and energy security insights.