Anything can happen in New York and usually does. We don't just have strange people - even our weather is strange. We have had earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, and heat waves in New York City in 2011, and the year isn't over yet.
Earthquakes
Forget California, we have earthquakes, too. This summer, an earthquake that traveled the length and breadth of the East Coast and damaged the Washington Monument in D.C. But that wasn't the first time NYC experienced tremors. There have also been rumblings from time to time along a fault line that runs down 125th Street in Harlem. By the way, our Indian Point nuclear plant is sited not far from the Ramapo Fault. Earthquake junkies can observe real-time reports on a map in the New York Museum of Natural History.
Hurricanes in the city
Then, there are the hurricanes. Remember Irene? Probably the most well-covered storm in New York City history, it left a swath of destruction in its path, uprooting venerable trees and flooding roadways and rivers throughout the area, but as storms go, it was far from the worst. That honor probably belongs to the Long Island Express of 1938, which carved out Shinnecock Inlet in Long Island and widened Moriches Inlet. This one storm permanently altered the shape of Long Island.
A Christmas blizzard
Have a holly, jolly Christmas. And don't forget to bring a shovel when you visit our fair city. An stealth blizzard blanketed the New York City last Christmas. With the mayor out of town and city officials caught flat-footed, the Christmas storm dumped 20 inches of snow in Central Park over 17 hours. Snow drifts as high as 5 feet covered cars, and traffic came to a standstill. Who was dreaming of a white Christmas? Maybe the lawyers. There were hearings galore and lots of finger-pointing. If you want to get a jump on the next blizzard, consult the good folks at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A year with no summer
After 2011's notoriously brutal summer featuring 106-degree-Fahrenheit temperatures, a year without a summer has a certain appeal. Thanks to Tamboro Volcano that erupted east of Java in 1815, the summer of 1816 never arrived. Dust from the massive volcano blackened the skies and brought on a chill that killed crops throughout the entire northeastern United States. The corn crop was ruined and orchards devastated. Food prices in New York City markets skyrocketed.
Absolute Astronomy says that temperatures of 26 below zero Fahrenheit in the winter of 1817 froze the waters of New York's Upper Bay and made it possible for horses to travel across the ice from Brooklyn's Buttermilk Channel to Governor's Island. It's enough to make this year's mind-numbing heat look good by comparison.
Clouds of cicadas
So, what's still to come after the harrowing weather of 2011, which featured blizzards, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and heat waves? Why, plagues of locusts, of course. The New York City area hosts massive broods of "locusts" - actually periodical cicadas - that show up en masse every 13 or 17 years, depending on the variety. According to Cicada Mania, the next outbreak of 17-year "locusts" will be brood VII dropping by in 2018.
There you have it, folks: earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, heat waves, and an upcoming plague of locusts. Welcome to the Big Apple!
Mary Finn, a native New Yorker, offers a unique perspective on the city of New York.
