North Central College in the News
North Central College associate professor of physics quoted in Daily Herald
Jan 24, 2022
Paul Bloom discussed climate change in connection to 1967 blizzard and likelihood of it happening again
Fifty-five years ago, local temperatures reached a record 65 degrees. Two days later, a far more memorable record was set: An unexpected blizzard dropped 23 inches of snow in 29 hours -- the area's largest single-storm snowfall. The blizzard of Jan. 26-27, 1967, stalled tens of thousands of vehicles and shuttered schools, businesses and airports. The storm caught locals by surprise -- something that would not happen today thanks to radar, satellites and computer modeling that did not exist decades ago.
Paul Bloom, associate professor of physics at North Central College, was interviewed by the Daily Herald, where he shared that while it’s difficult to tie an event like the ’67 blizzard to climate change, there’s evidence all around us that extreme weather events are becoming more probable.
“One consequence of global warming over time is more moisture in the atmosphere. That can result in extreme rain and snow events, making another blizzard like the one in 1967 possible,” said Bloom.
