When Bad Weather Strikes it is a Call for Us to Unite and Help

    Over the summer as I sat by a bonfire with my family in my backyard watching the thunderstorm that formed off of a lake breeze off of Lake Erie I remembered both why I love the weather and why I sometimes hate it.  The lightning filling up the sky in the distance with luminous purples and oranges was spectacular and beautiful but it also reminded me of the dangers of weather.  A few weeks ago it was posted all over the web that the country music band Sugarland's stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair killing 4 and injuring dozens more.  The collapse was likely due to a wind gust upwards of 60mph that came from a strong line of thunderstorms that passed over the area as a cold front moved through.  I can only stress the importance of staying in a safe location when bad weather comes by, and please listen to local meteorologists or other officials and keep your eye to the sky. 
    
     Thunderstorms can develop very quickly and intensify just as fast. One that formed around the same time over Monroe County popped up and only left a few rain drops on the westside, but by the time it reached the city the rain was reportedly coming straight down, or sideways at times with plenty of lightning and even hail.  Many were left without power for several hours and as the storm continued to head out of Monroe County into Wayne County there were reports of hail, fast winds, the sky appeared to be rotating, and many trees and powerlines were down.  Luckily everyone stayed safe here in the Rochester area. 
     While Thunderstorms are the most recognized form of severe weather in the summertime, severe drought is also one of the most frequent this time of year.  The people in the Horn of Africa and its surrounding countries are suffering from one of the worst droughts and famines seen yet.  Typically this region of Africa experiences a wet and dry season.  For this year and most of last year the region has received barely any rain at all and if they have received some it has not been enough to establish crops.  For the rainy season the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) will move north into the region bringing abundant rain in the months of March to May.  Typically this time of year is when most of the crops are harvested, but this year there are no crops to harvest.  Another cause for why this shift of the ITCZ did not occur was because there is a stong La Nina leaving relatively drier conditions across much of the Horn of Africa. There are many people still without food and donated food supplies are running out. In the end this could prove to show an entire generation may be nearly wiped out.  In a recently published article (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_EAST_AFRICA_FAMINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-05-05-03-40) the U.N. states that nearly 13 million people are still in need of aid.  This is an urgent issue and it will not be going away anytime soon.  Forecasts are showing that the region will not be getting the rain it needs for the harvest it needs. 

         There are many ways to help but first educate yourself and your friends about the issue (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44399980).  Here is a  list of some organizations that are helping:
-UNICEF (Text FOOD to UNICEF (864233) to donate $10)
-International Committee of the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/)
-Edesia Global Nutrition Solutions (http://www.edesiaglobal.org/) <-- provides nutritional bars that contain much of the nutrients people are not getting. 
-The World Food Programme (Text the word AID to 27722 to donate $10)
-Doctors Without Borders (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/allcontent.cfm?id=68)
-Water for Sudan (www.waterforsudan.org) <-building wells in Southern Sudan, changing lives.