Experts credit climate change as factor in recent severe weather in Wisconsin as politicians share varying views
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – With another round of flooding impacting Wisconsin and other states in the Midwest, it's a reminder that environmental experts say climate change is making these disasters more likely.
Daniel Wright is the Arno Lenz Memorial Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research, teaching, and outreach focuses on extreme rainfall, floods, and how both are influenced by meteorology, urbanization, and climate change.
“It’s very well established in the scientific community that extreme rainfall is more frequent and more intense due to climate change,” Wright said. “The number of extreme hailstorms or hailstone sizes appear to be going upwards over time as a result of climate change. That’s projected into the future as well based on highly detailed climate model simulations.”
In a press conference on Thursday about the City of Milwaukee’s response to severe flooding, Mayor Cavalier Johnson addressed how climate change is something elected leaders will need to respond to.
“I think all of us are going to need help from the state and federal government, too. And recognize that yes, we do have a changing climate, and we have to be able to address it the best we can,” Johnson said.
Democrat Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski posted this video to her Facebook page last week, calling on Republican leaders to take action on the changing environment.
Republican Congressman and candidate for governor Tom Tiffany responded to Godlewski’s post on X.
Wright is also the founding site director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Convective Storms, a new partnership between Northern Illinois University, UW-Madison, the National Science Foundation, and more than a dozen insurance and risk management companies. He said he is having conversations with people in the insurance industry about how the frequency of these severe storms could impact people long-term.
“These frequent hailstorms mean that there’s less of a chance for insurance companies to recuperate their losses through, 'good years to balance out the bad years,'” Wright said.
Milwaukee’s mayor said it will be up to elected leaders to respond to the findings of environmental experts.
“I think all of us are going to need help from the state and federal government, too. And recognize that yes, we do have a changing climate, and we have to be able to address it the best we can,” Johnson said.
