No, no, definitely not an anti-science doomsday cult, nope
‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets
When the February blizzard swept through Martha’s Vineyard, it knocked out a wastewater pump in Edgartown and toppled a historic harbor flagpole near where “Jaws” was filmed. These damages, on top of other snow and ice expenses, have put the town nearly $200,000 in the red for cleanup costs.
Similar steep bills are piling up across Massachusetts. After a blockbuster winter that dumped record-setting snow on southern New England, cities and towns from Boston to Mattapoisett have busted their snow budgets, forcing already cash-strapped municipalities to make hard decisions about how to close the gaps.
It’s counterintuitive — hey, isn’t it getting warmer? — but some experts say these strained budgets may reflect another impact of climate change: rare but intense snowfall. While global warming is on average producing shorter and milder winters, it is also driving up extreme precipitation. That means when temperatures do drop low enough, storms can drop significantly higher snow totals. And that may only get worse as monster storms grow more intense.
“The way we experience climate change is through extremes,” said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at Climate Central. “All of that comes with a price tag.”
Because big snows only come when it’s hot out, you know.
Across the region, officials are trying to figure out how to pay that price. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has already spent more than $185 million on snow and ice removal this winter — about $20 million beyond what was spent during the “Snowmageddon” winter of 2015. State officials are weighing whether to seek aid from the Trump administration.
And that’s all because it’s too hot from Other People driving fossil fueled vehicles. Nope, not a cult.
