NEWSWEEK: We’ve had record rainfall in the East, record heat in the West, and a record number of tornadoes in the middle of the country. What is going on here?
Al Roker: This is not a typical weather pattern. It’s been much, much cooler [in New York] than usual, but it’s been much, much warmer in the West in places like Boise and Portland, Oregon. Average that out, though, and the nation’s temperature is probably not off more than a degree or so. Is it [the weather] a fluke? No. Still, it’s not the usual pattern. It’s happened before, but the problem is that it hasn’t lasted this long.
Are the Western states going to pick up the slack anytime soon, so we can enjoy some higher temperatures–and some sun–again in the East?
A number of cities in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic have set [rainfall] records. In New York, for example, we’ve had 280 percent of its normal rainfall for May and June. And I know Memphis set a record, and I think Washington, D.C., too. A number of places, of course, have gotten more than their share of rain since May. But I think you’ll see things balance out a little bit more after next week. The computer models suggest we get back to a more normal pattern in the Northeast and in the mid-Atlantic. By the middle of next week, the jet stream pattern will change. This is not an El Nino or a La Nina phenomenon, it was just a change in the jet stream that kept storms coming up the coast. That’s opposed to normally, when it’s a little to the south, and steers storms to the south. This has allowed storm after storm to come marching across the country wreaking havoc, causing problems not just in the Northeast but in the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states.
Is the forecast better for this summer?
We’re in the middle of it here, so everyone is saying, “It’s horrible, when will it warm up?” But in mid-July, people will be asking me when it will cool off. I’ll have to keep my hands in my pockets so I don’t go after them. But that’s our nature. Summer starts in two days. Soon–bam!–it will be hot and steamy, and this will all be a distant memory. I remember my first summer in New York it rained 18 weekends in a row. It was just when we were talking about global warming and everyone was saying it was the end of the world. Then, the next year, it was hot and sunny and nobody remembered the year before.
It seems like we’re seeing extreme weather worldwide now. There are droughts in India, record heat in Pakistan and Europe, and deadly flooding in China, Argentina and Africa. Isn’t that a bit unusual?
You’re going to have anomalies all the time. You can point to it and say it is because of global warming or La Nina or El Nino. But sometimes stuff just happens. Because patterns have shifted, nature looks for balance. If it’s bad in one place, then it’s probably a little better than normal someplace else. The atmosphere and environment are always trying to balance out.
It’d be nice if the differences weren’t so extreme though–if we just had more mild weather around the world.
It would be nice. But if it did that, you wouldn’t be writing about it, and I wouldn’t be talking to you now.
True, and you might be out of a job.
Exactly. It’s this weather that makes for great [stories] on the Weather Channel.
Like the tornadoes in the Midwest. We’ve seen a record number in some parts of the country this year–and even some in Europe.
The tornado season has been extraordinary–that is really out of the ordinary.
You’ve been doing weather reports for nearly 30 years now. Does it seem like the weather has gotten worse, or more extreme, over the years?
I don’t think it is necessarily getting worse but we are seeing more swings and more extreme weather. If you take it on average, it’s not worse. You’re getting much less snow or a lot more snow in a season, but when look at the climate overall, you look at period of 30 to 40 years. And we are still looking at that, so you can’t draw any conclusions there yet.
Al Roker Productions did a special on PBS in the mid-1990s about severe weather called “Savage Skies.” Seems like this would be a good time for a sequel. What would you highlight this year?
You’d have to highlight all the tornadoes in Midwest and the record rains in West Virginia and the rainfall in the Northeast. Really, there’s no shortage of stuff to do.
Any plans to do a follow-up special this year?
No.
You do have a lot of other side projects now, between the “Food Network” show and your Web site and writing. How long do you think you’ll keep covering weather for “Today”?
My mentor, Willard Scott, said, “Never give up your day job.” And this is my day job. I am not giving it up. I’m just fortunate that NBC lets me do these outside projects.
Like your new barbeque book?
Yes, exactly. And with the weather improving, people will want to barbeque more, and they will probably want to go out and buy my book.
Very good plug there.
Thank you. Really, if you want to guarantee yourselves a sunny barbeque, you need to get “Al Roker’s Big Bad Barbeque Book.”
Watch out. People are going to hold you to that–they’ll be demanding a refund if it rains.
Well, actually, even if it rains, the book is big enough that you can use it to shield yourself. That’s why it is a big bad book of barbeque. When you fold it out, it’s big enough to cover you in the rain, and you can still barbeque.
Let’s hope we don’t need to use the book that way.
Yes.
