It's no mystery that the United States has had a rough year, weather-wise. The January blizzard, the spring floods, the Joplin tornado--it's been a terrible year for weather disasters. Economically speaking, we're having one of the worst weather years in history, according to a new report by the National Climactic Data Center. "The total damage done by all storms, tornadoes, flooding and heat waves so far this year adds up to about $35 billion," reports The New York Times. "With four months to go in 2011, this year’s total amount of damage is likely to rise. Forecasters are already predicting further meteorological mayhem as hurricane season intensifies."

Unsurprisingly, Hurricane Katrina is listed as the most expensive single natural disaster in our nation's history with a total cost of $125 billion, or $145 billion adjusted for inflation. On average, though, the nine natural disasters we've seen this year is about twice as bad as the typical year, on average. Global warming activists have taken note, and, according to some scientists, so could aliens.

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Adam Clark Estes