The Storm is Coming

Last night I watched the first episode of an NBC miniseries called “The Storm.” This struck a nerve. My first mystery novel, Hour of the Manatee, was originally titled Storm Warning, and it was just that. The NBC movie was marginally about Global Warming and very exciting, and timely too, were it not for the ridiculous plot. The basic theme of runaway weather is real enough, as we speak. Bizarre mini weather phenomena have been occurring worldwide of late, and if not quite as dramatic yet as in the film, it is at least equally strange and perplexing.

Even in Seattle, where I now live, the weather has shown a remarkable tendency towards the strange, pretty much since I got here two years ago. I also felt exonerated, too, by seeing a high level General as the prime heavy in this script. In my latest eco-thriller Cry of the Heron, an Air Force General is less than heroic. Weather as a weapon? Maybe. But it is Mother Nature’s weapon, not ours (which in fairness, is the underlying moral of this over-the-top TV movie.)

Here is Seattle, the reputed weather pattern has always been dull (literally) and predictable: a long, gray, rainy winter, and a short, but bright summer. Seattle summers are, or have been, in fact, the nicest in the world: little or no rain, clear skies and bright sun, moderate temps rarely about 80, maybe a few clouds and an infrequent, short rain storm, usually in the pre-dawn hours. As my Chinese wife noted, with considerable satisfaction, it’s “not too hot, and not too cold.” Unlike China, these days. My wife is from Harbin, in the northernmost part of China, the former Manchuria, which borders Mongolia, Russian Siberia, and North Korea. During my 30 month stay there ending two years ago (culminating in my recent memoir A Billion to One) Harbin was icily cold in winter, beginning in October, and hot in the summer, often into the lower 90s (30 d. centigrade).

Two weeks ago I talked to my wife in Beijing via Skype, using webcams. She was sweating, literally. It was 11 p.m. their time (and fifteen hours earlier in Seattle) and she was fanning herself in the heat. It was 95 degrees. She said it was too hot to go out, when I suggested a cool mall or library--at least during the day. And while her family there is upper middle class, air conditioning is still rare in China, mainly due to its massive energy demands (clothes dryers are still not in use for the same reason—China needs its energy for industry just now, and all else is secondary, unless, of course, you are a high party official).

Here in Seattle, at the time, it was gorgeous: upper seventies to low 80s in the day, and low 60s to upper 50s at night. I’d been swimming every day in our pool, or even Lake Washington, which is remarkably clean, still. I felt guilty. But change is coming here as well. Last winter, we had a sudden snowstorm that completely paralyzed the city. They didn’t know what to do with 6-8” of snow. It had never happened before. As a result, this paralysis lasted for as long as ten days. My condominium complex is on top of a hill with steep access roads. They were not plowed, for two weeks. There are no plows. Then they froze, along with the parking lot above.

Now, in late July, the beautiful weather here has taken a bit of a Beijing turn. Yesterday it was 95 f. in Kirkland, just down the lake. And that was just the beginning. It’s expected to get even hotter for the next several days, even over 100 in places. People are looking for “heat shelters” now, an unprecedented problem for this part of the country. I am lucky: my 3 story building has units above and below us which provide insulation, and lots of shade and breezes. We are moderated by these, and as a result I was comfortable, even during the night when, again without precedent, the temperature stayed high. Which meant upper 70s. When I lived in Florida, it never got that cool at night, and AC ran 24/7 in the summer. (I am going there next week to see how it is now, and also visit my son and old friends from my Tony Lowell Mystery days. There too, anything is possible now. I know they’ve had a multi-years’ long draught, which is unprecedented for them).

Meanwhile, I am enjoying Seattle’s new heat, which is still not as bad (and much cleaner) than Beijing’s heat. Or Florida's. It may still be the best weather in the world at the moment. Unfortunately, the whole word is changing now, and “best” may not be that good, before long. As for the mini-series “Storm”, which continues next Sunday, I can hardly wait to see what ridiculous plot twist comes next. And what the real Weather Woman--Mother Nature--has in store for our next punishment. Whatever it is, we deserve it.