Task Force on Resiliency
The time has come to “spring forward” as we set our clocks ahead one hour, an event that marks the unofficial end of winter and the beginning of spring. And even though spring doesn’t officially begin until March 20, many of us will take the opportunity to bid good-bye with pleasure to what has been a strange winter, weather wise.
Consider this:
· Dozens of cities in the traditionally cold mid-west have set new all-time February record highs. Milwaukee, Oshkosh and Appleton, Wisconsin, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Moline, Illinois and North Platte, Nebraska all had daily high temperatures warmer than any previous February on record.
· As of late February, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, usually the scene of frustrating weather-related delays in the winter, has recorded less than an inch of snow in 2017.
· Also as of late February, Reno, Nevada had recorded the wettest year on record with almost 13 inches of precipitation. The average rain they usually get in an entire year is just over 7 inches.
· North Dakota recorded its earliest ever report of severe hail on February 22 when one-inch in diameter hail pounded parts of the state.
· And, just to mix things up, as spring approaches, a snowstorm that could be the biggest of the season, is bearing down on the Northeast.
The last 20 years have produced many more severe weather events – heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, and tornadoes, for instance – than any other period since record-keeping began in 1880. It’s not ERA’s job to weigh in on why the decades-long pattern of severe, sometimes intense and very unusual weather is continuing into 2017. But it is our job, and the job of our members, to help you protect the buildings you own, manage, design and construct.
To that end, ERA is celebrating Spring this year by launching a website dedicated to incorporating resiliency into roofing systems. It will provide information on how to design and build a resilient roof, one that will have a good chance of withstanding the impact of severe weather, and also rebound quickly from any damage the roof might sustain.
We invite you to visit it often, hopefully learn from what we have to offer, and share your insights about the best ways to deal with the extreme weather patterns we have been experiencing. www.EpdmTheResilientRoof.com