HOUSTON – Hello and welcome back to the extreme weather blog! Here in Southeast Texas we have had an extremely active weather week with strong storms nearly every afternoon. Across the globe, there were several big weather stories, but the biggest was the air quality across the northern U.S. This week, we’ll dive into the air quality issues, and also talk about deadly flooding in Haiti. Last week we discussed flooding in Spain and Super Typhoon Mawar.

Hazardous air quality:

Air quality is something I admittingly take for granted on a daily basis, but this week was a major reminder of how bad it can be. As I’m sure you have likely heard, wildfires in Canada brought dense smoke into the northeast United States bringing apocalyptic scenes to locations like New York City and Washington, D.C. On Wednesday afternoon New York City hit 484 on the air quality index, which is hazardous for all. Folks were encouraged to stay indoors and limit time outside. The air quality was so bad that it reduced visibility enough to cause thousand of flight disruptions. When passengers were traveling to NYC they were encouraged to pack N95 masks to make breathing safer when they had to be outdoors.

Flooding in Haiti:

Heavy rainfall last weekend devastated Haiti with dozens reported dead, and thousands of folks becoming displaced. The terrain in Haiti is mountainous, which elevates the flooding threat. The rivers overflowed which led to flash flooding, landslides and even rockslides.

Days after the heavy rainfall, on Tuesday morning a 4.9-magnitude earthquake hit southern Haiti, collapsing homes and claiming the lives of an additional four people. Humanitarian aid has been underway for this island after a very hard week.

Something good:

It’s blackberry season here in Texas! This season begins in May and lasts through mid-June and this week the berries are scrumptious! These berries can be found all along our highways and in gardens alike. I picked a bunch and made blackberry cobbler last week, and it was perfect paired with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. Blackberries are also wonderful as a snack, on yogurt, as jam, or in a fun cocktail! The photo below is from last weekend in Burton, Texas (near Brenham) and you can see the huge size of the red berries. These will ripen and be ready to eat this weekend! Yum! Want to get in on the fun? Check out these berry picking destinations.

Stay safe always,

Caroline