Philadelphia, PA: The Land of Mild Weather and Homicidal People
By Carol Eckstein
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is located in the southeastern corner of the state, and is the 6th largest city in the United States. The weather there is not terribly exciting. In the summer, it gets hot - but not too hot, and winters are increasingly mild (thanks climate change!). Philly is a very average place, in terms of weather; it meets the national averages for snow, rain, and sun almost exactly.
The ground is far too hilly and covered in forests to promote frequent tornado formation (they sometimes accompany hurricanes but rarely form independently), and the hills are not big enough to have major landslides or avalanches. Wildfires are not a problem (yet), and the tectonic inactivity of the east coast takes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions out of the equation, though fracking-induced earthquakes are a growing problem in western Pennsylvania. The city is around sixty miles from the nearest coastline, which is far enough to prevent the primary impacts of coastal flooding, but close enough that an occasional hurricane will actually cause some damage for Philadelphians.
Hurricane Irene, which struck in August of 2011, was the most major occurrence of extreme weather that I can remember. There were other big hurricanes, like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Harvey, but this one in particular I remember quite vividly, for some reason. There was tons of flooding in the city, which borders the end of the Delaware River, right before it meets the Atlantic. Even out in the suburbs, small creeks and streams were undergoing dangerous flash floods as well.
I remember listening to the intense winds bombarding my family’s house, wondering if the next one would bring a tree crashing down through the roof. I live in a particularly wooded area of the Philadelphia area, which combined with an almost exclusively above-ground electrical grid is a recipe for widespread power outages. This is the case during all hurricanes (and even regular old thunderstorms) that come our way, but in the case of Irene, I remember being without power for over a week. We would go to the local middle school to hang out in the air-conditioning and charge our devices… not a very fun way to end your summer vacation.
Most hurricanes that make it all the way up the east coast will usually lead to flooding and power outages in Philadelphia. This causes plenty of property damage and general inconvenience, but very rarely leads to injuries or deaths. So if you are looking for somewhere to live without fear of terrible weather every day, then this might be the place for you! Though natural disasters probably won’t affect your life in Philly very much, you might want to watch out for the obscenely high rates of homicide and violent crime, which are more likely to hurt you than the weather. They don’t call it Killadelphia for nothing!
Araiza, K. (2011, August 28). Hurricane Irene Hits Hard, Spins Off Tornado, Causes Flooding & Blackouts. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/hurricane-irene-barrels-toward-philly-jersey-delaware/1910476/
Officer Involved Shootings. (2019). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.phillypolice.com/ois/
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Climate & Temperature. (2020). Retrieved November 02, 2020, from http://www.philadelphia.climatemps.com/
Posted: August 28, 2. (2011, August 28). Irene triggers flooding, power loss climbs to over a million. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20110828_Irene_causes_dangerous_flooding_across_region.html
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