Climate scientists no less worthy of our trust than the weather forecasts we rely on daily

No, we’re not preaching heresy.
But the truth is, most of us rely on weather forecasts far more than we’re willing to admit.
As a science goes, it’s far more exacting than what we give meteorologists credit for calculating.
For the record, our newspaper depends on a private weather service for its regional weather outlook daily and to supplement stories.
Almost any conversation about the weather today sends folks to their smart phones to look at the forecast. While many others tune into other media outlets’ weather segments or to the Weather Channel for updates.
In other words, it’s apparent we trust these sources enough to make plans and to prepare for disasters.
Yes, sometimes they get it wrong or misjudge the weather’s severity or cannot agree on the inches of snowfall. But their batting average for a science, which it is, is a lot higher than many others.
On Saturday, local forecasts for thunderstorms were exact to the point of projecting within minutes when the rain would fall.
Reading data and using modeling, collaboration and pattern recognition are all part of a process toward getting the forecast right.
However, today’s weather often borders on extremes that shift completely, not just from one end of the state to the other, but from one end of town or a county to the other — rapidly.
The lesson here is, our area’s heavy stormwater runoff can serve as a precautionary warning for flash flooding elsewhere, which was the case last weekend.
The vast majority of scientists have attempted to explain this dramatic change in the weather for years as climate change caused by the Earth’s warming.
Though many accept their explanations, many others — including some of our top political leaders — don’t.
Yet, these climate scientists are no less worthy of our trust than those weather forecasters we heed daily.
Admittedly, some have a hard time conceiving rising sea levels in geologic time while you can watch a flood sweeping through your living room in human time.
But scientists warn that geologic and human time are virtually merging in many respects toward an apocalyptic climate in the future.
The resistance to the idea of climate change has much less to do with the failure of science than it does a mix of politics, enormous investments and lack of vision.
For the record again, none of us here are experts on climate science. We have not dedicated our lives to studying climate. However, most of us have the good sense to listen to and even take as gospel what these experts say.
If last weekend is any barometer of what to expect this summer, then everyone should prepare now to brave the storms to come.