On Martin Luther King Day, Alder reports on the extraordinary 2017 vintage across America.
In 2017, the United States suffered the most weather-inflicted natural disasters in a single year since records have been kept. Eighteen separate events, ranging from tornadoes to hailstorms, from floods to wildfires, exceeded $1 billion in estimated damages, with the total weather-related damage for the year totalling more than $300 billion and climbing. Much of the country was considerably warmer than average, with several parts of the country experiencing severe drought, while others experienced record inundations of rain, thanks in part to one of the most...