A wild weather ride

'The Deadliest Woman in the West: Mother Nature on the Prairies and Plains 1800-1900' by Rod Beemer. Available from Amazon and the public library.

"Human domination over nature is quite simply an illusion, a passing dream by a naive species." Donald Worster, 'Under Western Skies', 1992.

Quite possibly the best and most suitable quote for the entire book. A lovely ride through the weather and other natural happenings of the plains, most of which prove that wild and unpredictable weather has always existed and is not a product of the current popular mythos of climate change.

It tells the story of the eight point plus earthquake in the New Madrid fault, felt as far away as Washington DC. The hurricane of 1900 that hit Galveston, TX and caused 3000 miles of damage through the US and Canada. Horrific thunderstorms dropping hail about ten inches in diameter. It even recounts many instances of early settlers dying from lightening strikes. It revisits the now familiar tornadoes, droughts, blizzards and floods. It even tells of the dreaded prairie fires.

Highly recommended not just for those interested in history, but also as a weather study of an entire decade. It shows the natural patterns of the American Desert and even proves that the Dirty Thirties during the Great Depression were not a one time occurrence but had happened previously in the late 1800s after a long period of drought.

If it happened once. It could happen again. And it all would be normal.